Unintended Medicine
by PuppyNoelle
Summary: Maka goes on the Pill to help alleviate her troublesome menstrual symptoms, but things become skewed when Soul finds out about her new prescription. SoulxMaka, multi-chap, LEMONY.
1. Chapter 1

Unintended Medicine

by PuppyNoelle

Description: Maka goes on the Pill to help alleviate her troublesome menstrual symptoms, but things become skewed when Soul finds out about her new prescription. SoulxMaka, multi-chap, future lemon.

A/N: I'm back! Thank you so much to everyone who read and reviewed my first Soul Eater story, Promiscuity! I got so much encouragement from you guys, and I can't thank you all enough :3 I got 7 reviews and almost 600 hits in the first 48 hours after my story posted! That's probably the most traffic any of my stories has gotten so quickly on this site, so thank you!

I got the idea for this story while watching the episode of Sex and the City where Miranda visits her gynecologist and decides to go off birth control and finds out that she has a "lazy ovary" (for any of you who have seen that episode). I figured I'd put Maka through a little gyno awkwardness too, just for fun.

Love, Ash~

* * *

Maka Albarn was really not in the mood for this. She couldn't wait to get out of this thin cotton hospital gown and get her own clothing back on. It was way too drafty in the cold, sterile exam room. But of course she had to wait for the doctor to get back.

The seventeen year old meister had just had her very first gynecological exam, and she had never felt more embarrassed in her life. Having those cold tools and gloved fingers probing around her unmentionables and poking around her breasts was a total nightmare. She shuddered at the still recent memory.

Finally, the brunette woman strode calmly back into the room, with Maka's clipboard in hand.

"Well Maka, you are perfectly healthy. Everything seems to be in good shape. Now, I know that earlier you complained about having unusually painful menstrual cramps and very heavy bleeding during your period. I know you mentioned that you had to miss a couple days of school last time, and to help you out I would like to put you on an oral contraceptive."

Maka stared blankly. "A what?"

"An oral contraceptive dear- birth control pills."

"W-what?" Maka stammered.

The doctor lightly laughed, reaching over and patting the girl's hand. "It's alright. Nowadays many women use it primarily to reduce menstrual and pre-menstrual symptoms. It's not just for preventing pregnancy."

"Oh," the blonde replied meekly, as the doctor scribbled on the clipboard.

Maka stared blankly at the wall, until she heard a small rip, and the doctor handed over a piece of paper with a prescription on it.

"Here you go," she smiled, as Maka tentatively grasped the paper. "You're all set to go Maka! Just remember to come back in a couple of months so we can have another check-up and alter the strength of your prescription if we need to."

"Okay, thanks..." the young girl replied, and the good doctor quietly left the room so Maka could change.

Later that afternoon, as Maka walked home from the pharmacy, she clutched the bag with her prescription to her tightly. What on earth was she going to tell Soul, her very _male_ roommate? Going on the Pill was embarrassing enough, and if he found out, she would never hear the end of it. He had finally quit teasing her about her small breasts (which weren't quite so small anymore, to her relief). Still, she knew her best friend, and if she let him in on any embarrassing information, it probably wouldn't be long before he told Black Star... and _no one's_ secrets were safe once the loudmouth Black Star knew about them.

No, she simply wasn't going to tell anyone about her new prescription. She could just hide the pills in her room, and take them right before bed when no one else was there to disturb her. Not even Soul would find out that way.

The meister thought her plan was foolproof until she reached the door to their apartment and realized that, since it was a Saturday, her roommate was probably inside, on the couch, watching television. For the first time she cursed herself for not bringing a purse with her.

With no way around the situation, Maka slowly turned the knob and peeked around the door. Just as she thought, Soul was still in his pajamas and sprawled out across the couch with his crimson eyes glued to the TV. Since he hadn't turned to look at her yet, she quickly took the chance to stash one hand behind her back, clutching the container of pills.

When his gaze finally met hers, she plastered on a quick smile, waved at him, and immediately scuttled off to her bedroom. She hadn't noticed the quizzical look that crossed her weapon's face at her odd behavior.

Once inside the safety of her room, Maka closed the door behind her and breathed a sigh of relief. She kicked off her shoes, and tentatively opened the paper pharmacy bag. She curiously pulled out the circular plastic container of pills and the folded piece of paper that contained the drug facts and directions.

There was a knock on the door, and she jumped, dropping the pill container on the floor.

"Maka, what are you doing?" It was Soul.

"N-nothing!" she stammered, hastily reaching down to scoop up the fallen pills, just as her bedroom door flew open. She'd forgotten to lock it!

Soul arched a curious eyebrow at her as his eyes traveled down to the container that her left hand was currently clasping on the floor.

Maka noticed where his line of vision had traveled, and she immediately popped back up, hiding the container behind her back, with her face flushed.

Soul blinked. "What is that?"

"I... it's just a prescription the doctor gave me," she replied, trying to sound nonchalant.

"Well then why are you hiding it from me? They're just pills, no big deal, right?" he asked, reaching around behind her back for the container.

"No!" Maka squealed, jumping out of his reach.

Soul was annoyed now. "Maka, what the hell? They're just fucking pills, it's not like you haven't made me get you Midol or tampons before. What could be more embarrassing for a cool guy than that?"

"Uh..." She flushed, but didn't fight him this time as he reached for the packet again.

Soul draped his fingers around the circular container and brought it close enough to his face to read the label. He murmured inaudibly as he read the contents of the label, until the words, "oral contraceptive" left his mouth, and he became slack-jawed. A hint of pink graced his cheeks as his face displayed an incredibly rare moment of raw embarrassment. Maka's own face was tomato red.

Soul couldn't look his meister in the face. Instead, he swallowed and muttered, "M-maka, you're not having..."

Maka-chop! The textbook from her desk slammed into his cranium, causing him to drop the pill container onto the floor, and clutch his aching skull.

"What? You are such a pervert! Get out of my room!" Maka screamed, madly waving her book around in the air as a flustered Soul flew out the line of fire.

Maka slammed her bedroom door behind him, pressing her back up against it. She was fuming. She stamped around her room, recovering the discarded pills and placing them securely in a desk drawer. She continued mumbling about men and their stupidity, as she recovered the lost directions and read through the information thoroughly.

By seven o'clock, she finally realized that it was her night to cook dinner, and she scrambled out to the kitchen to get to work. She was an hour late getting dinner prepared, so she was surprised that Soul hadn't come banging on her door, demanding to be fed. He wasn't out in the kitchen, nor was he in the living area either. She curiously peered into his half-open bedroom door to find him missing from there as well. He wasn't in the apartment.

Maka suddenly felt a wave of guilt crash over her. She'd had no idea that he would be that upset about their fight. So she decided to make a homemade italian sausage and five cheese pizza, his favorite, to cheer him up when he came back home.

* * *

~end chapter one~

Please read and review! :3


	2. Chapter 2

Unintended Medicine

by PuppyNoelle

Description: Maka goes on the Pill to help alleviate her troublesome menstrual symptoms, but things become skewed when Soul finds out about her new prescription. SoulxMaka, multi-chap, future lemon.

A/N: Thanks for the reviews you guys! :3 As it says in the description, there will be a lemon in the future... but I have to get through more plot elements first. I love having plot bunnies jumping around my brain again! It's such a lovely feeling.

Love, Ash~

* * *

Chapter 2:

At about nine o'clock pm that night, Maka finally heard the familiar purr of Soul's motorcycle on the street below. Already in her pajamas, she peeked her head out of her bedroom window to catch a glimpse of his silver hair as he pulled into his rented garage space on the first floor of their building. Before long she heard him turn the key in the door, and enter the apartment. Ready to apologize, she bounded out of her room, only to find that he had already walked into and closed his bedroom door.

Maka huffed. She felt guilty, yes, but now he was deliberately ignoring her. She rapped on his door.

"Soul..."

"What do you want?" came the grouchy reply.

"Can I come in?"

"Why?"

She growled under her breath. "Because I want to talk to you."

"If it's about earlier, then I don't care," he replied cooly.

She grabbed the doorknob, and swung the door open. He hadn't bothered to lock it. Good.

She peered inside to catch him in an awkward state of partial undress. His shirt had been thrown onto the floor, and he presently had one leg up in the air removing his second pant leg. Basically, he was only wearing his boxers.

Maka's face flushed the same shade as her partner's eyes. Those crimson orbs locked with her emerald ones.

"What the _hell,_ Maka?" he yelled as he kicked off the pants. "First you call _me_ a pervert, then _you_ barge in on _me_ when I'm half naked?"

The blushing Maka stumbled, slamming her back into the corner of the door. She winced at the impact, but couldn't think about it, since a livid Soul was creeping in her direction.

"I- it was an accident Soul! I didn't know you were changing!"

"Yeah right, quit acting all innocent Maka," his tone was controlled, but filled with venom, "It's not like you haven't seen a naked guy before. Clearly you've been canoodling with _somebody_, why else would you need fucking birth control?"

"What?" She was stunned. Where on earth had he come to that conclusion? Is that why he'd been so upset?

"Soul, I'm not... I haven't... the doctor put me on it to regulate my period."

He blinked, all traces of anger gone. "So then why were you trying to hide it from me? You could've just told me."

Maka sighed. "I was embarrassed Soul! And I figured you'd make fun of me, or, or tell Black Star, and then he'd spread it all over the school, and then the rumor mill would _really_ start running..."

Soul laughed. "Why the hell would I tell Black Star about that?"

"Huh?" Maka was taken aback, again. "But you _always_ tell him all the embarrassing stuff! Like that one time we were walking to the mall, and that woman turned on the hose in her front yard and lost control of it and it soaked my blouse..."

Soul burst out laughing. "Ha ha ha! Yeah, that one was pretty epic."

Maka chop!

"Ow... damn Maka... Look," he said, taking his textbook out of her menacing hand, "I only tell Black Star the stuff that really is funny. I swear to you Maka, to this day, he has no idea that I sometimes have to pick up your," he cleared his throat, "'lady products' for you. And when you're feeling really miserable and don't come to school, I just tell him you're sick. It's none of his damn business."

He grinned and crossed his arms over his bare chest. "I'm too cool to sink that low."

Maka felt relief wash over her. She crossed the distance between them and pulled him into a tight embrace. She could smell the wind in his silver locks.

"Thank you Soul."

He released a deep, throaty chuckle, and ruffled her hair. "You're welcome Maka... Now, can I get dressed?"

Embarrassed, for the millionth time that day, Maka flushed and released him. "Yeah, sorry."

As she turned to leave the room, Soul called out to her again. "Hey Maka, don't get pissed, but while I was out earlier... I kinda told your dad."

"You... _what_?"

Suddenly the book reappeared in the meister's hand, and collided, again, with the weapon's skull.

As Maka left Soul to clutch his throbbing head, she felt her heart pound a little harder as her eyes lingered a little too long on his well-sculpted chest. As she disappeared from view, she missed the toothy grin on Soul's face.

* * *

~End chapter 2

So the initial problem with Soul is resolved... But as we all know, Spirit will go nuts. I'm itching to try my hand at writing Maka's drama queen father. It'll be fun :3

As always, please read and review!

Love, Ash~


	3. Chapter 3

Unintended Medicine

by PuppyNoelle

Description: Maka goes on the Pill to help alleviate her troublesome menstrual symptoms, but things become skewed when Soul finds out about her new prescription. SoulxMaka, multi-chap, future lemon.

A/N: I love this Soul Eater community, seriously. You guys have all been such gracious and enthusiastic readers. I love you! Some of the other communities I've written for (*cough*Harry Potter*cough*) have been full of so many rude and closed minded people, and it is so refreshing to join a community where everyone is so positive and welcoming! And I'm thrilled that I have had over 1000 hits each for both of my SE stories! You guys are fabulous. :3

So, the newest Pokemon games (Black and White) came out on sunday, and I've been going back and forth between writing and playing that, which is why I'm posting this on wednesday instead of tuesday. Sorry, I haven't forgotten you guys!

Love, Ash~

* * *

Chapter 3

Maka swore under her breath as she heard her father's voice screaming her name. As if that weren't enough to wake her, his incessant banging on the apartment door at 1 am made sure the entire building would be awake for the show. She heaven a sigh, and reluctantly pulled herself out of her fluffy cave. She walked out of her room to see Soul already leaning up against the wall beside the shaking door. He looked just as sleepy as she was.

"I guess he's not comatose anymore," her weapon said, with a bored expression on his face, "I seriously thought he'd had a heart attack and died right where he stood."

"When do we ever get that lucky?" Maka sarcastically countered, "That idiot Papa of mine is too stubborn to die _that_ easily. Though I am surprised he didn't recover sooner."

Soul shrugged, about to reply when-

"MAKA! MAKA OPEN UP! PAPA LOVES YOU, LET ME IN!"

"Does he really think _that's_ gonna make me let him in?"

Soul smirked, "You've gotta point there, but it would probably be better to just get this over with, we don't want the neighbors coming over and bitching at us about the noise."

Maka sighed. "I guess you're right. Go ahead."

Soul wordlessly unlocked the door, and swung it open. A wave of bright red hair crashed onto the floor in front of Maka. Just as quietly, Soul closed the door again.

Suddenly her father's arms were wrapped around her ankles and Spirit continued wailing his daughter's name. The meister allowed this to continue for a few minutes, but soon a thick encyclopedia made its way into her hand, delivered there by a silent Soul, and s quick Maka chop landed on Spirit's head.

"OWW! Makaaaaa! What was that for?"

"To get you to shut up! Can't you at least _pretend_ to act like a grown up for one minute?" the blonde yelled.

Spirit immediately snapped his mouth shut, and stood before his daughter, with his head lowered apologetically.

Maka huffed. "That's better... Now, I don't know what exactly Soul told you," She shot Soul a quick glare, then returned her focus to her father, "but yes, I am on b... b..."

"Birth control," Soul helped.

"Yes, but it's only to help regulate my period. I'm not h-h-"

"-having sex." Soul finished.

"Shut up Soul."

"Shutting."

Spirit lifted his head and analyzed his daughter's face, searching for any sign that she was lying to him. When he found no signs of deceit, he pointed at Soul, and said, "B-but..."

Maka folded her arms across her chest. "That idiot jumped to conclusions."

"...And she's already beaten me up for it." Soul finished, still leaning against the wall, acting bored.

Spirit meekly searched between the two teenagers, and found nothing amiss. He heaved a sigh, then said, "So there's nothing for me to worry about?"

Maka nodded. Spirit's lips curled into a smile as he latched onto his daughter's legs once again.

"I AM SO PROUD OF YOU MY LITTLE MAKA, YOU ARE SO WONDERFUL AND RESPONSIBLE! PAPA LOVES YOUUUUUU!"

_Smack! _The encyclopedia smacked into his cranium again.

An annoyed Maka grumbled aloud, "Okay Papa, you can go now. It's almost 2 in the morning."

Spirit blinked. "Oh! Of course! I'm sure I'll run into you at school on Monday! Papa loves you Maka!" he sang, before turning on Soul and glowering at him, "As for you... from now on you had better be straight me with me boy! You got that?"

"Loud and clear." came the aloof response.

Maka sighed, and headed back to her room.

After his daughter had closed the door, Spirit turned to Soul, "And if she so much as shows any interest in any boys, you tell me right away so I can scare the shit out of them for coming anywhere near my little Maka!"

"Tch..." Soul snickered, "You actually think that you'd need to step in? I can scare any losers away well enough for the both of us."

After he spoke, Soul stared at his meister's closed door with a look of longing in his eyes.

Spirit detected this stark contrast from the younger scythe's usual demeanor, and instead of acting merely like an overprotective father, he said, "If you let anyone _else_ touch her, I swear on Lord Death that I _will_ have your head, boy."

Soul picked up on the hint in the man's words, and gave him a thumbs up. "No prob, old man."

Spirit peeled open the door, and before he closed it, he said, "Thanks for telling me, kid."

Soul silently locked the door behind the man, and returned to his bedroom. He couldn't dance around his own feelings anymore. Having now earned her father's trust, he needed to claim his meister soon to make damn sure that no one else would ever get the chance.

* * *

~end chapter 3


	4. Chapter 4

Unintended Medicine

by PuppyNoelle

Description: Maka goes on the Pill to help alleviate her troublesome menstrual symptoms, but things become skewed when Soul finds out about her new prescription. SoulxMaka, multi-chap, future lemon.

A/N: I'm starting to get some really interesting feedback from you guys! I love the comments that say more than just "I love your story!", as much as I appreciate those too ;). But when you guys write comments that get me thinking, that's when I know that I'm really making an impression! Please keep it up! I want to turn fiction writing into a career, so finding out what my audiences like and dislike is part of my job. You guys are awesome!

Also, next week is my university's spring break (hooray!), but I probably won't be able to write any more than usual, since I'll be spending most of break working on my senior project (I know, I know... but dammit, I need to do it to graduate!) My updates may very well slow down a lot after break, since I will have only a month left to complete my project (scaaary). So I'm going to do my best to wrap up this story by the end of next week, so that I wont leave you guys hanging until the beginning of May :/ But the end of school is nigh, and I am more than ready to be done!

Anyways, enjoy!

Love, Ash~

* * *

Chapter 4

The next week was a bit confusing for Maka. The day after her dad showed up at their apartment, Soul had begun acting a little different- though it wasn't quite in a bad way. The stress from the previous day had caused her to oversleep. She wasn't too worried, at ten thirty in the morning she assumed that Soul would still be asleep until about noon, which gave her plenty of time to work on breakfast. When she made her way to the kitchen, however, her weapon was already awake, and making breakfast.

The blonde girl stared, slack-jawed, as her partner poured liquid batter into the waffle-maker that her mother had sent to her for her last birthday. That was also the last time they had used it. However that wasn't the only thing that was a bit amiss about Soul that morning. He was also shirtless, wearing only his pajama pants.

Now, running around the apartment without a shirt wasn't too uncommon for Soul during the summer months, but they were still in the late winter-early spring phase, and he always wore a shirt unless it was eighty degrees Fahrenheit or higher. Soul was modest, unlike Black Star, who would be willing to bear his chest year round if it might make him appear more godly.

Nope, it definitely wasn't eighty degrees, and it was definitely Soul cooking in her kitchen. Maka couldn't help but gawk. She had never really taken the time to simply look at him since they'd gotten older. She was always so busy, always had something to say, or something to study, or someone to meet, and even though he was almost always right there with her, she never slowed down enough to really pay attention.

So she decided that she would sit down in her chair at the kitchen table and watch.

"Morning Maka," Soul's baritone voice sleepily chanted.

She yawned. "Morning Soul. Thanks for making breakfast."

"No prob," he replied, scooping up the completed waffles and plopping them onto two plates. He set the plates onto the table, then brought over three condiments: a bottle of maple syrup, a can of whipped cream, and a bowl of fresh strawberries. It was Maka's all time favorite breakfast.

"Wow, what's all this for?" Maka was surprised, but impressed.

Soul shrugged, "Well yesterday pretty much sucked, so I got up a little early to make a decent breakfast."

Maybe this was just his way of apologizing for being an idiot. Maka figured she could handle that. But Soul still continued to do a few random, uncharacteristic things throughout the school week.

It was just little things, small details that were off. He still acted like his typical lazy and aloof self, but at random times in the halls, he would take her books out of her hands and carry them himself until they got to class. In class, he would scoot his chair a little bit closer to hers. At lunch on Thursday, when Maka stayed behind to talk to Kid about their latest group assignment, Soul not only picked up his own food, but got some for her as well. Not to mention, every afternoon when they came home and every morning when they woke up, he walked around the apartment either with no shirt at all or with a tank top that still showed off his well-toned arms.

These changes were all very strange, and yet Maka kind of liked it. Still, she needed to figure out what was going on, so on Friday afternoon, she met up with Tsubaki after school to go shopping.

The girl friends were in a department store, trying on clearance shoes when Maka finally found the courage to explain her predicament to her female best friend. When Maka finished detailing the last week for her, Tsubaki giggled, and smiled sweetly at her friend.

"Maka, it's really not that hard to figure out. Soul has feelings for you. The rest of us have all known for a while, though we don't really talk about it. We just figured you two would figure it out eventually."

Maka's cheeks tinged pink. "You mean Soul, _likes_ me?" She blinked. "Wow, that really does explain _everything_."

"And," Tsubaki continued, resuming fiddling with the strap to the white stiletto sandals she was trying on, "from what you've told me, it would seem that you like him too."

Maka's blush deepened. She hadn't really thought about her relationship with Soul that way before, but a part of her knew that the older girl had hit a bullseye.

Tsubaki smiled, standing up to show off the fancy shoes. "So, what do you think? Do you think Black Star will like them?"

Tsubaki and Black Star had been dating for months, and it had become a habit for Tsubaki to ask her girl friends if the clothing she picked out would please her boyfriend. Though, they were all pretty sure that the only part of Tsubaki's clothing that the hyperactive young man cared about was the part when her clothes came _off_ her body, they always gushed and gave advice about her choices anyways. That was the point of shopping with your girlfriends.

"They're gorgeous Tsubaki," Maka chimed, "Do you guys have a date planned this weekend or something?"

The older girl nodded, "Yes, he's taking me to this nice Italian place for dinner tomorrow night. It's our one year anniversary, can you believe it?" Tsubaki's eyes sparkled happily at the thought.

Maka grinned, "Then let's find you a dress to go with those shoes!"

Tsubaki agreed, and the two girls carried the sandals with them as they cheerfully careened toward the dress department.

After Tsubaki purchased her date outfit, she told Maka that she wanted to get some new underwear for the occasion as well, so the younger girl reluctantly followed her friend into the mall's Victoria's Secret store. Once they arrived inside, Tsubaki pulled out her coupons and the pair poured over them, trying to identify what items the coupons could be used for. Finally they picked out a satiny, zebra striped bra with tiny rhinestones on it and a matching lace thong.

Lingerie shopping really wasn't so bad, as Maka pleasantly discovered. It was much the same as regular shopping, except everything in this store was all frilly, lacy, and super girly. She had imagined the worst, namely S&M and dominatrix outfits lining the walls, but everything in this store was just so _pretty_.

Tsubaki picked up on her friend's change in attitude and offered her the remainder of the coupons. "You can pick out something here too if you want. Just pick out a cute bra and some matching panties. They have some really pretty stuff here."

Maka smiled sheepishly, and began to look around. After Tsubaki paid for her items, she joined her friend's hunt for the perfect bra. They veered away from anything that was too bright or had animal patterns, and finally came to a section lined with lacy bras. And then Maka saw them: hanging just above her eye level was a row of light pink, lace covered bras that had tiny matching pink bows between the cups. She flipped through the hangars until she found one in her size and peeked at the label. It was called a "Dream Angel". She figured she couldn't be too embarrassed about owning nice underwear that was named after an angel. After the approval of a delighted Tsubaki, Maka quickly found a bikini style bottom that matched.

As she paid for her items, Maka was beginning to understand why Tsubaki always asked if Black Star would like her outfits. She swallowed the desire to ask her friend if Soul would like hers. She was too proud to indulge in that behavior... yet.

* * *

~end chapter 4

Ahh... Victoria's Secret... I couldn't help it, I got their new spring catalogue in the mail today. And yes, the bras the girls picked out are in aforementioned catalogue. Maka: Dream Angels push up in All-Over Lace, color: pink hibiscus/light buff; Tsubaki: Very Sexy push up, color: sexy zebra. (Maybe I should get paid for the publicity :P)


	5. Chapter 5

Unintended Medicine

by PuppyNoelle

Description: Maka goes on the Pill to help alleviate her troublesome menstrual symptoms, but things become skewed when Soul finds out about her new prescription. SoulxMaka, multi-chap, Lemony!

A/N: Well, I originally planned to finish this chapter last night, but around midnight I ended up passing out on my laptop lol. I'm sure you all know the feeling :P

50+ reviews and almost 4000 hits, you guys kick ass :3 I really wish I could respond to all of the reviews, since you guys have great comments, but I want to keep my word count primarily for story content. We need blogs here, seriously. I try to keep a semi-blog on my profile, but once I change my update, the last one ends up having to go poof! I'm considering reviving my deceased LiveJournal (or something similar). When I decide what I want to do, I'll be sure to keep you all in the loop.

Love, Ash~

Chapter 5

As Maka strolled up to her apartment door, she heard two boisterous male voices echoing from beyond the door. Soul and Black Star were having an argument about something, probably over a videogame they were playing on the Playstation 3. Sure enough, when Maka peeled open the door, the two men were both fighting over the controller. Apparently Black Star was trying to wrench the black device from Soul's hands.

"Dammit Soul! You're doing it wrong! You can't keep using a Paradigm with a Synergist in it! Fuck defense! You're wasting time buffing up when you could be going all out and attacking!"

"Shut your face Black Star! This boss can kill your whole party in one hit with his Destrudo attack! I _need_ to have Haste, Protect, and Shell up so that I don't get fucking killed!"

Maka rolled her eyes. Soul had been trying to kill that particular boss for days. Several times he'd come over to her, seething, and spatting something about getting killed by something called "Doom" every time he got close to killing the boss. Maka honestly couldn't care less, but she listened and gave him sympathy anyway. Soul had felt really down because of his inability to overcome this challenge, and Black Star clearly wasn't helping.

"Soul just fucking kill him man! You're wasting time with strategy!"

"No fucking way! I'm not stupid! Have you even _gotten_ this far in the game yet Black Star? It actually requires a lot more brain power than _you're _capable of!"

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?"

Maka cringed. The only downside to gaming nights were the blow ups. Usually if Kid was there too, he could cool the other two off, but when left to their own devices, Soul and Black Star were both prone to blowing up. When the controller flew across the room, nearly hitting Maka's face, she knew it was time to flee.

Soul and Black Star had just begun a wrestling match on the couch, when Maka dove for the safety of her bedroom. She released a heavy sigh as the door closed behind her. She dropped her school bag onto the floor, and stuffed the Victoria's Secret bag under her bed. She could still hear the boys' argument through the walls, so she pulled out a romance novel and her iPod to keep herself sufficiently distracted.

Maka had just started reading the first love scene in the book, when she felt large hands pushing her body over on the bed. She squeaked and immediately snapped her hardback book closed. Her wide eyes looked up to watch Soul plop down on his back beside her. He looked exhausted.

The meister removed her headphones and placed her entertainment materials on the nearby windowsill. She noticed a small bruise on his cheek, and reached over to gently stroke it with her thumb.

Soul peeked open one crimson eye in her direction.

"You okay?" Maka asked.

"Yeah," Soul replied, taking her hand away from his face and lacing their fingers together. He peered at her face to gauge her reaction to this, and when she showed no sign of pulling her hand away, he rolled onto his side and inched closer. He touched his forehead to hers before speaking again.

"Black Star's just an idiot. I mean, what right does he have to tell me how to play a game that I'm better at than him? He's such an ass."

Maka giggled. "Well you know him..."

"I know, I know..." he replied, releasing her hand to gently stroke up and down her arm with his fingers.

"Mmm..." the blonde girl hummed at the light sensation that her weapon's fingers left on her bare arm. She instinctively leaned her whole body in closer to his.

Enticed by his meister's reaction, Soul became emboldened. He snaked his arm around her waist, and leaned in the rest of the way to capture her lips. The kiss was chaste and gentle. Soul pulled back to gauge Maka's reaction.

She gazed back at him with slightly glazed eyes. Her lips curled into a silly smile, and Soul's own lips peeled into a toothy grin. Maka curled her fingers around the collar of his t-shirt and gently tugged on it.

"Again."

Soul's grin widened. "I can't _believe_ I get to touch you without a Maka-chop to the skull..."

She tugged his collar a little harder. "Shut up and kiss me, or you _will_ get a Maka-chop."

He chuckled, "Yes ma'am," and claimed her lips once again. This time the kiss was more urgent. Soul untucked the back of Maka's shirt, and his hand slithered up the back of it, tracing over the soft skin there. Maka purred and draped a leg over his hips, pulling herself even closer to her weapon. Soul moaned into their kiss.

"Mmm... Maka..." he breathed, then pushed her onto her back and straddled her. He then laced their hands together, and pinned them onto the soft pillow above his meister's head. He kissed her again, this time pushing his tongue onto the crease between her lips, asking for entrance. She willingly gave it. After Soul had properly explored her mouth, it became Maka's turn to explore his. Their tongues danced and clashed as Soul's body came closer and closer to Maka's, until they were firmly pressed together.

Soul's hands abandoned Maka's to instead reach down and unbutton her blouse. After he had exposed her bra and bare midriff, Maka reached down and tugged at his shirt as well. Soul smirked, and pulled away just enough to remove the article of clothing for her. Maka peered down and examined his masculine chest. The muscles there were well toned, but not overly so. He didn't have the six pack abs that most women fawned over, but Maka didn't care. To her, he was perfect, even with the long, faded scar that stretched diagonally across his physique.

She gently ran her index finger along the line that was always a little bit paler than the rest of his skin. Soul's body quivered at her featherlight touch. He couldn't help his arousal as her finger made its way down to the portion of the scar that met with his pants line.

"Oh Maka..." he moaned. He pulled her hand away, trying to not let his lust take over just yet. He grasped her hand and used his free one to gently cup one of her cheeks. His crimson orbs stared straight into her emerald ones and he whispered, "Maka, I love you."

Maka's eyes brimmed with emotion and she replied, "I love you too, Soul."

Now, the floodgates were opened, and Soul's passion took over. He leaned in and kissed her again, this time much more fiercely. Maka did not complain, and matched his fire. Maka adjusted her body, so that she could wrap her legs around his waist. For the first time, she felt the bulge in his pants, and became highly curious. She lowered her legs and broke off their kiss to stare at the tent.

Soul was taken aback by Maka pulling away, until he followed her line of sight, and realized what had distracted her. He chuckled, and moved off of her to lie on his back.

He smirked at his meister, gesturing toward his pants, and said, "Go ahead Maka, I'm all yours."

The blonde blushed, but let her curiosity take the lead. She sat up beside her weapon, and started by splaying a hand across his chest. She gently made circular motions on the skin with the tips of her fingers. Slowly, her fingers made their way down to his stomach, and continued making circles there. Maka melted at the low purrs that Soul's voice emitted. She loved how just that simple touch could make him completely drop his guard.

Maka bravely abandoned his stomach to travel further down. She slowly undid the button on his jeans, and pulled down the zipper. As she pulled off the black denim, the only barrier left was his black and blue striped cotton boxers. Her heart pounded in her chest as she reached for the waist band and tugged off the last garment. She finally saw the fleshy hilt as it stuck up straight at her. Now she was stumped about what to do.

Soul chuckled and sat up a bit, gently taking one of her hands and wrapping her fingers around the width of his member. He slowly moved her hand up and down, teaching her what to do. Eventually, she became confident with her strokes, and Soul released her hand and leaned back to enjoy the attention.

Maka felt tingly and hot all over as she listened to Soul's heavy breathing and moaning. She felt the urgent need to have him do something for her as well. She stopped her ministrations and quietly panted out his name. His eyes peeled open as she backed away and pulled off her unbuttoned blouse. He took the hint, and maneuvered over to her, pulling her skirt down her legs and tossing it aside. He joined their lips together again, before he removed her plain cotton panties as well. It was his turn to explore.

He carefully pulled his meister's legs apart and placed himself between them. He could see that she was already moist from arousal. He gently took his index finger and stroked her folds. She hummed quietly, and he continued. He then teased the tiny bud just above the folds, and Maka's moaning became a little bit louder. Finally, he slipped his index finger through the folds and inside the opening. It wasn't long before his finger found her virginity barrier, and he pulled his finger out. Maka moaned unhappily, but accepted Soul's lips when they came up to meet hers.

He looked directly into her emerald pools, and asked, "Are you sure you wanna do this?"

"Yes," she said breathlessly, "make love to me, Soul." This time, Maka took charge and claimed her weapon's lips. He loved it when she was confident.

He broke the kiss and carefully positioned himself at her entrance. Slowly, he pushed in. Maka gasped when he hit her barrier, but told him to keep going. He continued to push until his meister released the breath she had been holding in.

"You okay?" he asked, worry written on his face.

"Yeah," she said, tightening her legs' grip around his hips, "I'm find now Soul."

She pulled his head closer to kiss him again in reassurance. He grinned at her, then began to push further inside. Eventually the pair found a solid rhythm and continued their moans of pleasure, until they had both found their release.

Soul collapsed on top of his meister, and buried his face into the crook of her neck, placing tiny kisses on her collarbone. Maka giggled at the sensation and stroked his silver locks with a spare hand.

Eventually, Soul gathered the energy to move over, and he pulled Maka's covers out from under them to cover their tired bodies. He relaxed on his back, twirling a finger through the long blonde locks of the girl beside him.

Missing the contact, Maka, cuddled close to him and laid her head on his chest. "Love you, Soul," she whispered sleepily.

He smiled, "Love you too, Maka," and wrapped his arm around her waist to hold her close. He felt her breath slowly even out against his chest as she fell into slumber. He gently kissed the top of her head before falling asleep himself.

~end chapter 5

I wanted to have a really sweet end to their first time having sex. I have always imagined Soul as being a closet hopeless romantic. I guess the fact that my own personality is so strikingly similar to his helps me to really get inside his head. We rough-around-the-edges but total sugar-on-the-inside types have to stick together :P

Oh, and the videogame that Soul and Black Star were playing is Final Fantasy XIII, for those of you who were as lost as Maka was about what the boys were talking about. I'm a Final Fantasy nut, and since both Final Fantasy and Soul Eater are produced by Square-Enix, I couldn't resist the little tie-in.

For any of you guys who are familiar with that game, the boss Soul was trying to kill was Barthandelous, Round 1, and he was using Sazh and Hope (Soul's look-a-like character) in his party, since those are the only two Synergists at that point in the game. And yes, that boss is tough enough that it takes multiple tries to beat him, even when your characters are as developed as they can be at that point. I beat him with a more varied party than Soul's, but Black Star really would be screwed on that one if he just used brute force. Sorry Black Star! XD

...I found a way to use another character! :D

Love, Ash


	6. Chapter 6

Unintended Medicine

by PuppyNoelle

Description: Maka goes on the Pill to help alleviate her troublesome menstrual symptoms, but things become skewed when Soul finds out about her new prescription. SoulxMaka, multi-chap, Lemony!

A/N: As always, thanks for your reviews guys! Love ya! :3

Well, I have now brought my LiveJournal page back to life to use as a forum to discuss my stories. If any of you guys are interested, the link is in my profile.

As I mentioned in my notes at the end of last chapter, I have always thought of Soul as a closet hopeless romantic... and I'm sticking to those guns. And while I've been embarrassing Maka a ton up to this point, I think it's about time I turn the tables onto Soul a little bit. I'm an equal opportunity character abuser. He's gonna lose a few cool points, but that's okay, because we love him anyways.

Love, Ash~

* * *

Chapter 6

Maka felt like her entire world was suddenly inundated with light. Her eyes had just peeled open from what was the best sleep she had had in a long time. After her eyes adjusted to the stream of incoming sunlight, she recognized the silver tufts of hair sticking out on her pillow. She smiled as her memories from the previous night came back to her. She and Soul had done the dirty, naughty deed, and she had never felt so amazing in her life. She finally knew what love was supposed to be like, and it made all her years of hating men seem like such a waste of time. Yes, she would still hate _most_ men, and yes, they were all still perverts, but in Soul's case she would have to make an exception... because, damn... those things he can do with his hips...

And then it hit her. With one night of sheer passion, Soul had officially turned his meister into a pervert too. The realization wasn't a good one, but Maka came to the conclusion that, as long as no one but she and Soul knew, then she was safe from any humiliation.

Then Maka's stomach growled, informing her that it wanted to be fed. So, Maka carefully scooted off the foot of the bed, so she wouldn't disturb her snoozing partner. Once she was on her feet, she reached for the hidden Victoria's Secret bag under her bed, and put on the new lace panties. She then picked up Soul's discarded t-shirt, and pulled it over her head. She was pleased to note that the bottom hem was low enough to modestly cover her lower half.

When she emerged from her bedroom, her eyes met with bright yellow ones, and a long mane of dark purple hair.

"B-Blair?" Maka squeaked, "W-what are you doing here? You moved out two months ago!"

Maka quickly shut the door behind her, hiding the evidence of her late-night activities with Soul.

The overly enthusiastic magical cat gave Maka a huge hug, and said, "Oh silly Maka, I just missed you guys! Besides, I wanted to give you guys my old key back, since I kind of accidentally took it with me."

"Oh, okay," the blonde replied, taking the key as Blair deposited it in her hand.

"Is Soul up yet?" the cat asked, immediately making her way over to his bedroom door and opening it wide. She blinked. "Hey Maka, where's Soul? He's not in his room."

"Um... uh..." Maka flushed as she wracked her brain for an excuse.

Then, Blair looked Maka up and down, recognition dawned on her face, and her lips curled into a wicked smile. She grabbed onto Maka's shoulders and shook the teenager senseless.

"Oh my gosh, Maka you little vixen! You seduced Soul didn't you! Oh! I am sooo proud of you! No _wonder_ you closed your door and are wearing his shirt! Oh that is so _cute_!" Blair squealed.

"Shh! _Blair_!" Maka grumbled, "Okay, yes, Soul and I... you know..."

Blair punched a fist into the air and bounced up and down with joy. Maka slapped the cat's arm.

"...But calm down, he's still _sleeping_!"

Blair finally quieted her celebration, but continued, quietly, fawning over her young friend. Finally, Maka was able to shoo the cat out of the apartment, but before Blair would let her close the door, she slipped a small black book out of her purse and into the younger girl's hand.

"Just a little light reading for you, Maka," she said, grinning, before slinking out of sight.

The young meister heaved a sigh of relief. So much for being done with embarrassment. Now she just hoped that Black Star hadn't left something in the apartment last night after his tussle with Soul. At least Blair had the sense to only embarrass Maka in private, Black Star, on the other hand, would have a field day.

She took the book that Blair handed her, and retreated to her room to set it on the desk. Soul was still passed out in his spot on the bed. It was only nine a.m., so he would probably be out for at least another hour or so.

Before she left, she cleaned their discarded clothes up from the floor, threw hers in her hamper to be washed, and neatly folded Soul's boxers and jeans and placed them on the foot of the bed. As she turned to leave the room, she glanced back at the tiny book that Blair had given her, and wondered just what it was that Blair had wanted her to read.

Soon the kitchen was filled with the aroma of pancakes, maple syrup, and sausage links. Just as Maka was finishing up, warm arms snaked around her waist from behind, and Soul hummed into her hair.

"Good morning sleepyhead."

"Morning," Soul murmured, nuzzling into the crook of her neck.

Maka smiled. She could get used to this new, affectionate side of Soul. She finished up arranging the food on their plates, then turned around to face him. She was greeted by a soft smile and a peck on the lips.

"So what, are you going to do greet me like this every morning now?"

Soul shrugged, releasing her to sit in his spot at the kitchen table. "Maybe."

She rolled her eyes, and placed the food onto the table. Normally, Soul would simply scarf down his food, but this morning Maka noticed that his eyes did not leave her once. She had accidentally caught him staring at her like this before, but unlike in the past, this time he wasn't suddenly looking away, pretending he hadn't been staring. She couldn't help but wonder how she had never seen the signs before. She also wondered just how long Soul had known that he was in love with her.

Maka paused from her meal and asked, "Hey Soul...?"

He swallowed the food in his mouth, and said, "Yeah?"

"How long have you known you were in love with me?"

He grinned, "Forever. ...Actual time, about a year now."

Maka nearly spit out her food. "You've known for _that_ long, and you _never _did anything?"

He chuckled. "Maka, you're not exactly the romantic type. You _do_ realize just how much you've preached about men being total bastards over the years, right?"

"Oh."

He shrugged, "I've just been biding my time, waiting for _you_ to figure out how you felt first. I've been Maka-chopped and called a pervert enough times to learn that I have to let _you_ wear the pants in this relationship."

Maka liked the sound of that. "So _I_ wear the pants, huh? So does that mean that I have you w-"

Soul bolted out of his chair and held up a threatening finger. "Don't you _dare_ finish that sentence!"

Maka busted out laughing. "Soul is _whipped_!"

"MAKA!"

The blonde girl jumped up from her chair and bounded away from the table, still laughing, with her angry scythe right on her heels.

Maka ran into the nearest doorway, which happened to be Soul's bedroom and slammed the door behind her. Soul was left banging on the door while Maka sank to the floor, still laughing. Eventually, when her giggles died down and Soul stopped banging, she opened the door to reveal Soul standing there with a devilish grin on his face. She peered at him curiously, and finally noticed the cordless phone in his hand.

"Oh, _hell no_! Soul don't you _dare_ call Black Star!"

"What's the matter Maka? You don't want to tell your oldest friend that you're screwing around with his best friend? I bet he'll be very pleased with the news. I'm sure I'll get lots of manly praise for '_tapping that_'," Soul said teasingly, reaching over and playfully patting her ass on the word 'that'.

"SOUL!"

Soul pealed into laughter, but didn't fight when Maka angrily snatched the phone out of his hand.

The meister pouted, but knew when to give up. "Fine, I won't verbally emasculate you, if you don't tell Black Star that we had sex. Deal?"

Soul's laughter died down to a chuckle, and he said, "Deal."

Maka sighed, and pushed past her lover to place the cordless phone back in it's wall-mounted charger, where it belonged. And suddenly, she was grabbed from behind again, and Soul reached up inside the front of Maka's borrowed shirt to tease along the top line of her panties. Her breath hitched.

"Soul. What are you doing?"

He pulled all of her hair to one side, and kissed the bare side of her neck.

"It's called 'foreplay'. You read romance novels, right? You're smart enough to figure it out. And hey... these aren't the panties you were wearing last night..." He sensuously ran one hand over the lacy fabric, then down to massage the inside of one of her thighs.

"Soul..." she said sternly, but her resolve wasn't very strong.

"What? You're not going anywhere today, are you?"

"No, but-"

He moved his fingers up and touched her womanhood through the panties.

"But _what_?"

"Oh screw it!" She exclaimed before turning around and kissing him.

Soul smirked. He scooped her into his arms, and carried her bridal style into his bedroom for round two.

* * *

~end chapter 6

Sorry, but I left it there pre-lemon on purpose. I'm building up to the next one. Just as Soul said: Foreplay ;)

Oh, and raise your hand if you agree that Soul is totally whipped. :P


	7. Chapter 7

Unintended Medicine

by PuppyNoelle

Description: Maka goes on the Pill to help alleviate her troublesome menstrual symptoms, but things become skewed when Soul finds out about her new prescription. SoulxMaka, multi-chap, Lemony!

A/N: Sorry, no big lemon in this chapter. The next one is still in the works. I do, however, have more pee-your-pants funny in this chapter.

Love, Ash~

* * *

Chapter 7

"Oh Soul!" Maka moaned, as his final thrust brought her to orgasm. Their second time was much more passionate than their first. Apparently she needed to fight with him more often.

Soul kissed his meister one last time, before pulling out, and lying down beside her.

"So, how was _that,_ Maka?"

She laughed, placing her head on his chest and staring up at his face. "_That _was damn good."

He grinned, "I aim to please."

Maka shook her head at his silly boyishness, but happily continued their cuddle.

Before either of them could get too comfortable, however, Soul's cellphone rang on his nightstand. Soul grumbled, but picked up the phone anyway. When he glanced at the name on the screen, he rolled his eyes, and showed it to Maka. It was none other than Black Star.

She grumbled too. "Go ahead and answer it. You know how he gets when we ignore his calls..."

"'Kay," Soul replied before flipping open the phone.

"What's up, Black Star?"

The crazy ninja's voice was loud enough that Maka could hear it with ease.

"Yo, Soul! Why the hell isn't Maka answering her phone? I tried calling her three times already! Where is she?"

Soul rolled his eyes. "She's right here, we were hanging out in my room, so neither of us heard her phone ring. Here, I can give her the phone-"

"Nope! Doesn't matter, I was gonna tell you too: we're meeting Kid and the girls at the basketball court, twenty minutes!"

"Okay, we'll be there."

"Oh, and I'm gonna hand your ass to ya on a silver platter for beating me up last night! The great Black Star never accepts defeat!"

And the line went dead.

"Pssht... He _wishes_..." Soul muttered, checking the time, then tossing the phone to the other side of the bed.

Maka moaned unhappily. "I guess that means we have to move now, huh?"

Soul shrugged, and lightly ran his fingers up and down the skin covering her spinal cord. "They can wait for us for five extra minutes," he said, leaning over to kiss her forehead.

As Soul and Maka walked down the street, Maka's thighs ached from her and Soul's previous activities.

"Soul..." she whined.

"What is it?"

"Why do we have to go and play basketball? My legs are all messed up from earlier..."

Soul chuckled, "I guess I should take that as a compliment?"

Since she didn't have a book with her, she settled for second best.

"Ow!" Soul exclaimed, then gently massaged the back of his head. "_Damn._ Woman, you don't even _need_ a book, you hit hard enough with just your hand."

Maka grinned at the accidental praise of her physical strength. She moved beside him, and linked her arm through his. Soul relaxed at the gesture.

"So Maka..."

"Hmm?"

"What are we gonna tell our friends about _us_?"

Maka blushed. "Um... I have no idea?"

The scythe-man chuckled. "Do you just wanna wait until we actually have time to plan what we're gonna say?"

Maka pondered that for a moment, before sheepishly muttering, "Yeah."

"Okay then," Soul replied. He laced their fingers together, brought her hand up to his mouth, and gave it a quick kiss, before firmly placing it back at it's owner's side.

"Since that's the case, we can't have any touchy-feely-ness," he said, before stuffing his own hands in the pockets of his track pants.

"What about if it's an accidentally-on-purpose sort of thing?"

Soul smirked. "And here I thought _you_ were supposed to be the innocent one?"

Maka blushed, but replied in a tone mimicking his, "Well, you know how the saying goes, it's the good ones you need to watch out for."

Soul chuckled. "So what? You're the one who's gonna corrupt _me_ now?"

She playfully slapped his arm, then her lips curled into a subtle smirk. "I think we've already corrupted _each other_. Twice."

Soul howled with laughter. "Oh man... I think I love bad Maka just as much as good Maka."

"I'll take that as a compliment." she said, blushing, before walking a little faster, getting ahead of him. "Come on Soul, we're getting close now."

"'Kay." he said, increasing the pace of his stride to keep up. He hung back slightly to watch her walk. She wasn't lying about her legs. It was subtle, but there was a tiny limp in her stride. He felt an odd mixture of pride and sympathy. Maybe he _would_ go easy on her on the basketball court today. _Maybe._

When the pair arrived at the court, Black Star was immediately there to scold them.

"Dammit Soul, I said twenty minutes not _thirty_! What the hell could you two have been doing that's more important than getting your asses whooped by yours truly?"

Soul pushed the blue-haired ninja out of his face. "Believe me, Black Star, there's a _lot_ of things I'd rather be doing than having you up in my face."

Black Star laughed. "Yeah right, _everybody _wants to stare at this glorious face!"

Liz sauntered over and yanked Black Star back. "Can you _please_ stop hitting on your gay lover, and play basketball already?"

As Black Star smacked Liz's hand away, Soul rolled his eyes at the scene. Beside him, however, he noticed the glare on his meister's face which was pointed directly at Liz's back. He nudged her with his elbow. "Chill," he whispered, before leaving her behind to join the game.

Apparently keeping things quiet about the new state of their relationship was going to be a lot more difficult than he thought. While he _should_ have thought about it, he hadn't actually taken into account the fact that Maka always wore her heart on her sleeve. This was going to be a long afternoon.

The teens divided up into teams. Black Star chose Kid and Liz for his, and Soul let the three remaining girls choose who would sit this one out. Patty volunteered to play, and left the decision up to Maka and Tsubaki.

"What do you want to do, Maka?" asked Tsubaki diplomatically.

"Actually I'd rather sit this one out, if you don't mind Tsubaki."

Suddenly Black Star jumped in, and yanked Maka's arm. "No way, Maka! You and Soul were _both_ late! You have to play as punishment!"

"Ow! _Black Star_!" Maka screeched, swatting at him angrily with her free arm, until Soul stepped in the way. He grabbed Maka's flailing wrist in one hand, and placed his other on Black Star's shoulder to push him back.

"She'll play Black Star, chill out. No need to go overboard, man."

Black Star released Maka's arm, but proceeded to gripe. "Dammit Soul, you need to get over this over-protective bull-shit, grow a pair, and just fuck her already!"

Tsubaki, Liz, and Kid all simultaneously scolded him: "_Black Star!_" Patty burst into laughter. Maka blushed crimson as she buried her face into the arm not held by her weapon, and even Soul's cheeks tinged pink.

"What?" Black Star exclaimed, "I'm just saying what everybody here's thinking! Maka's so uptight she needed a dick in her coochie _years_ ago, and Soul just follows her around like he's her eternally-horny little _lap dog_!"

Black Star joined Patty in laughing, and their laughter rang solid throughout the basketball court, as everyone else turned curiously to see Soul and Maka's reactions. They were both blushing furiously, but neither of them made a move to open their mouths and retort. Soul's hand was still wrapped around Maka's wrist, gripping it tightly from the tension. He shot his meister a furtive glance. She met his gaze, and in a split second made a decision. He instantly understood her unspoken message, and loosened his grip on her wrist. She took that moment to lace their fingers together, and they both turned back to face their friends.

The laughter had stopped cold, and Black Star, Kid, Liz, and Patty all stared slack-jawed at their friends' clasped hands. Tsubaki's eyes lit up and a bright smile played on her lips.

After a silent minute, Kid's voice broke through the awkwardness, "So... really? You two are an item?"

The pair in question nodded. There was silence again.

"Yahooooooooo!" Black Star screeched, bounding over to his two friends and slapping Soul hard on the back. "So _that's_ why Maka wasn't answering her phone this morning! You guys were fucking each other's brains out!"

Soul and Maka blushed again.

"I _knew _it!" Black Star yelled, rolling on the ground in a fit of laughter. "You owe me fifty bucks Kid! Soul lost his virginity before you! HA HA HA HA!"

This time it was Kid's turn to be embarrassed. And now, Soul was pissed.

"_What_? You two _bet_ on my _virginity_?"

Black Star had been taken over completely by his laughter fit, so a pink-faced Kid responded, "Yes. We had accidentally had a bit too much beer after you left early from guy's night one time, and the subject came up. Black Star was bragging about his sexual exploits with Tsubaki, and he asked me if I'd ever..." The black-haired death god quickly glanced over at the spot where the two sisters were perched, then flicked his eyes away. "...nevermind. Anyways, it ended up in me betting Black Star fifty dollars that I would lose my virginity before you. I honestly thought I would win, because you and Maka never really seemed to show sexual attraction to, well, anyone, and, frankly, as a grim reaper, I thought that women would be fairly likely to line up for me as I got older. Black Star said that you would probably end up getting so... frustrated, that you'd end up raping Maka in the middle of the night." Kid was clearly embarrassed about the idiotic nature of the bet.

Soul and Maka both glared daggers at Black Star. "_You said WHAT_?"

Black Star received two simultaneous blows to the head. "Ow!" he howled, clutching his injured skull, "Hey! We were _drunk_!"

"Wait a second," Maka said, blinking. "You guys drink _alcohol_ on guys' nights? _Under age_?"

All three males in the vicinity looked sheepishly in any direction that didn't include Maka. The scythe meister glanced around at her female companions, to see that they all looked rather embarrassed as well.

"And you all _knew_!"

Tsubaki, Liz, and Patty all nodded in the affirmative.

She knew _exactly_ who to take her anger irrationally, and also rationally, out on.

"_SOUL_!"

"Oh _shit_." And the silver-haired teen took off toward the street, with his angry lover close on his heels.

As Soul and Maka disappeared, the rest of the group stood there in silence, until Black Star spoke up.

"Who wants to bet on how long it takes them to fuck again after she beats him up?"

Kid, Liz, and Patty all raised their hands.

* * *

~end chapter 7

Wow, that chapter was longer than I intended. It was tons of fun to write though! And leave it to Black Star to unintentionally out _everybody_. Poor Kid. XD


	8. Chapter 8

Unintended Medicine

by PuppyNoelle

Description: Maka goes on the Pill to help alleviate her troublesome menstrual symptoms, but things become skewed when Soul finds out about her new prescription. SoulxMaka, multi-chap, Lemony!

A/N: Thanks so much for the reviews! I am very glad you guys enjoyed the last chapter! Since I had toyed with the idea of it from the very beginning, I really wanted to let the Black Star beast out of his cage.

As for Kid, I really adore his character. I was actually a little apprehensive about writing him, because I wanted to be 100% sure I did him justice. I originally had him with zero lines, because he's such a complex character that I didn't think I could get him right. But I took a risk. And it looks like you guys enjoyed it! :D And I totally agree with everybody, Kid does need some lovin'. I don't know if it will happen in this story or not, perhaps later on I may sneak in a reference to Kid starting to date someone, but since he's just a minor character in this story, I'm making no promises.

Love, Ash~

* * *

Chapter 8

Maka finally cornered Soul when he slowed down to unlock their apartment door. She slammed into his back, shoving his body into their front door. They both bounced off the door. Maka wailed when her lover's body crashed into hers. All of the air disappeared from her lungs as they tumbled to the floor in a jumbled mess of limbs.

Soul's low voice streamed profanities. Somehow, Maka managed to smack the back of his head.

"_Fuck_. Maka, quit hitting me!"

"Then quit cussing and get off me!"

"And here I thought you _liked_ me on top of you. You wanna be on top next time?"

"Pervert!" SMACK!

"Ow! Okay okay, getting up!"

Once he was up, Soul resumed unlocking the door, and his half angry, half flustered meister stomped through the door in front of him. When he had closed and locked the front door behind them, he turned to see that Maka had already gone into her room and closed the door. She was pouting. He sighed, and made his way over to the television and flipped it on. He turned on the PS3 and resumed the game that he and Black Star had been playing the previous evening. Since Maka would be holed up in her room for a few hours, he became determined to _finally_ kill this boss.

Once her bedroom door was closed Maka threw herself onto her unmade bed. She furiously buried her face into the pillow, and growled in annoyance. Why did she have to be in love with such an _ass_? She continued quietly fuming for a few minutes, until she realized that she could smell Soul all over her sheets. She bunched up the blankets into her arms and buried her nose in them to take in the scent. The scent was very natural Soul, but also had a hint of a citrusy smell. There was no cologne she could think of that smelled fruity (was that a hint of tangerine?), but Soul was far from ordinary.

Maka was on the verge of leaving the room to get a stronger whiff of his scent, until she remembered the tiny black book sitting casually atop her desk. She had completely forgotten about Blair's little gift until now. Her curiosity was automatically renewed. The meister tentatively reached for the miniature book. Once she had it in her hands, she closely examined it. The hardbound cover was about three inches wide and five tall. It was bound with thick black paper made to appear as if it were leather. There was no title at all on the front or back covers, and even the binding on the side left no clues as to the contents.

Finally, Maka peeled open the front cover and turned to the title page. "'Kama Sutra'? What language is that supposed to be?" She continued to the contents page, scanned down and when she saw the words "Intercourse Positions and Techniques" she stopped dead. Maka was mortified. Okay, yes, as of last night, she was no longer a virgin, but she was _so_ not interested in kinky sex!

She slammed the book shut, and tossed it away like it was on fire. It flew inside her closet, barreled through the clothes that neatly hung there, and it fell somewhere into the abyss of the lower rack of clothing. With the book sufficiently discarded, Maka decided it was time to emerge from her hiding place and see what Soul was up to.

She strolled into the living area to find Soul glued to the videogame again. He was staring at the screen intensely, and talking to himself as he worked through the strategy.

"C'mon! C'mon! C'mon! Dammit, Light you need to hit harder than that!"

"You're _still_ trying to beat that boss?"

"_Fuck!_ Now Hope's dead! _Shit!_ Yes, Maka, this guy's a total bitch! Oh _hell_ no! Not fucking Doom again! Shit fucker mother fuck shit!"

Maka rolled her eyes and plopped down beside him on the couch. She stared at the screen, and was quite impressed by how realistic the graphics were, but she had no clue what was going on. As she watched she figured out that the little numbers above the pink-haired woman's head must've been a result of the Doom attack. Apparently it was a counter, and Soul was running out of time.

He continued cursing, until the screen flashed, and the girl with the timer collapsed on the screen. He didn't even wait for the "Game Over" screen to pop up before he dropped the controller on the couch and started jumping up and down angrily. Maka noticed a "Retry" option come up onto the screen, and curious, she picked up the controller. After she selected the retry, the screen loaded to show a view from behind the shoulders and head of the pink-haired woman from earlier. She played with the buttons until she had figured out the basic controls.

Soul finally settled down from his temper tantrum, and watched his meister curiously. He reclaimed his spot on the couch, and watched as she attempted her first videogame battle. Unfortunately for Maka, she chose a group of seven enemies, and was getting pounded into the ground. Soul shook his head when the "Game Over" screen popped up again. She was so clueless sometimes. When she had reloaded and walked into the group of enemies again, Soul started coaching her.

Soon Maka was beginning to understand this intricate system called a Paradigm, and was getting pretty good at taking out all of the enemies in this area. She experimented with different characters, and eventually settled with the pink haired girl, named Lightning, another young woman with wild black hair named Fang (seriously, who was in charge of naming these characters?), and a young teenage boy named Hope, whose silvery hair looked a lot like Soul's. She played around making different groups of "Paradigms" until she seemed satisfied, and she went in through the doors that led to the boss.

She lost the first time she went in, and she, too, cursed at the boss after her defeat. She understood why Soul was so frustrated. However, this time she was confident that if she just made one little alteration to her strategy, she could take the bastard out. So she tried again, and to her immense satisfaction, and Soul's complete astonishment, the boss fell.

Maka bounced up and down on the couch and yelled "I did it! I did it! I killed the boss!" Suddenly, the controller was pried from her small hands, as Soul tackled her into the couch. He stole her lips, the controller long forgotten. Maka purred and dug her fingers into his hair. If she had known that he would be this pleased with her for playing videogames, then perhaps she would have tried it sooner.

Finally, Soul broke their kiss, and grinned down at her. "You're the coolest girlfriend ever."

Maka blinked. "What... did you just call me?"

Soul smirked. "I called you my _girlfriend_. Problem?"

She pondered the word for a moment. It seemed so juvenile, so silly, and yet she swelled with pride at the thought of _her_, nerdy little Maka Albarn, being girlfriend material. Not only was she girlfriend material, but she was girlfriend material for _Soul_, one of the hottest guys in school. Her lips pealed into a goofy grin.

Soul laughed at her reaction. "I guess it's settled then," he said, as he pulled them both into upright positions on the couch. "I get to kiss you whenever I want, even at school. Deal?"

Maka giggled. "Okay, but only as long as you don't do it at any inappropriate times, like during class. I can't have you distracting me from our lessons! I _have_ to stay at the top of our class! You know how hard I have to work to compete with Ox and Kid!"

Soul chuckled. "Agreed." He proceeded to ruffle her hair, "Besides, having the smartest girl in school as my girlfriend just makes me look that much cooler."

Soul leaned back and wrapped a single arm around her shoulders. Maka's cheeks tinged pink at his unusually sweet comment.

"But," he continued,"If there happens to be a little over-the-bra action in the hallway, then I can't be blamed for it."

"_Soul!_" she screeched, smacking him over the head with a magazine from the coffee table.

He recovered quickly, and sweetly kissed her lips. Her body soon melted into his as they contentedly made out on the couch. Around them, the subtle scent of tangerines lingered in the air.

* * *

~end chapter 8

Sorry it was posted later than I anticipated. I only got about four hours of sleep thursday night, so I was dead tired all day yesterday, and I had to be up at 6 am for work today (and I have to be up at 5am tomorrow morning. alas.)

As for Soul's tangerine scent, I really couldn't see him wearing any traditional cologne, he's too unique and rebellious for that. And he just comes off as a citrusy person to me. I haven't decided for sure if he even wears cologne, or if the scent is from his shampoo, body wash, or whatever. But yes, Soul smells citrusy delicious. :P


	9. Chapter 9

Unintended Medicine

by PuppyNoelle

Description: Maka goes on the Pill to help alleviate her troublesome menstrual symptoms, but things become skewed when Soul finds out about her new prescription. SoulxMaka, multi-chap, Lemony!

A/N: Thanks for your patience everybody. I've had week and a half of sleep deprivation and physical exhaustion due to my job being incredibly hectic. Unfortunately after the local universities got back from spring break, every single one of the K-12 schools went on break, and we were completely booked up at the kennel I work at (like 130-140 some dogs and cats). Since most of the employees are college students too, my more flexible schedule meant that I had to work full-time hours on top of my schoolwork just so we could get the bare minimum of staff to get by. So, as a result of my own exhaustion, this chapter is of the more mellow and fluffy variety. I hope you enjoy :3

Love, Ash~

* * *

Chapter 9

As that crazy Saturday finally wound down, Maka realized just how exhausted she was. All within the past twenty-four hours she and Soul had had sex twice, walked over to the basketball court, run that whole way back home, accidentally tackled each other in the hall, played a video game that really got their adrenaline pumping, and had a heady make-out session. No wonder the meister now lay draped across the couch, dozing in and out, while her partner lazily continued playing the game.

After going back and replaying the boss fight, following his meister's strategy this time, Soul had finally advanced to the next area. At the moment though, he didn't seem too concerned with continuing the plot. He took long breaks between battles to listen to the soothing music and gently comb his fingers through the long blonde locks that belonged to the sleepy head on his lap.

Eventually, Maka peered over at the analog clock on the wall above the television and noticed that it was now almost seven-thirty. Her stomach roared at her, and it was then that she finally realized that neither of them had eaten anything that day. Of course! That was another reason why they were both feeling so sluggish!

Soul's stomach rumbled too, and Maka didn't even blink as she peeled herself from the cozy couch to retrieve the cordless phone from it's holster on the wall.

"I'm ordering Chinese, what do you want?"

"Just get a ton of shrimp fried rice... that sounds good right now," Soul mumbled, staring dully at the battle on the screen. Maka hummed in the affirmative, and dialed the number that they both knew by heart.

Once the meister hung up, she returned to the cushiony comfort of the couch. She cuddled up against her scythe-man's side, and rested her head on his shoulder. Soul defeated the clunky robot-warrior on the screen, and let the post-battle screen hold as he took one hand and released the controller to wrap his arm around his meister's waist. Maka adjusted her body to snake her arms around Soul's torso, resting her head just beneath his head. Soul leaned back, and the young couple cuddled in comfortable quiet.

_Knock knock_.

"I got it," Soul announced, peeling away Maka's body to retrieve their much needed meal. The meister grumbled incoherently, but allowed the disentanglement.

Soon both weapon and meister had curled up together on the couch and were greedily scarfing down the seasoned mixture of shrimp, rice, and vegetables.

_Poke!_

"Ow! _Soul!_ Be careful where you're sticking that fork!" Maka daintily rubbed the reddened spot on the back of her hand.

Soul grumbled, "It's your own damn fault for finishing your own carton so fast! Don't be a pig and try to take _my_ food. You don't wanna get fat."

MAKA-CHOP!

"I _will not_ get fat! I'm not a lazy bum like you! I have a high metabolism and I'm physically active!"

Soul smirked, "Not to mention _sexually_ active."

MAKA-CHOP!

Soul wearily rubbed his sore cranium, and pulled his food carton away from his meister's prying hands. Maka pouted but was too tired to fight him. She reluctantly peeled herself from the couch.

"I'm going to bed," she announced, stomping off toward her bedroom.

Soul mumbled his acknowledgment, and continued cramming his mouth full of food. Maka sighed. She had honestly hoped for more of a reaction than that, but she mentally scolded herself for thinking that Soul would ever fundamentally change just because their relationship had changed. He would always be a cocky, lazy, blunt, and rude (yet hopelessly devoted) son of a bitch. And she loved him anyway. The young woman smiled to herself as she changed into her pajamas and climbed into the warm, fluffy covers that no longer smelled of tangerines.

Meanwhile, Soul had finished his own meal, and resumed his place in the video game. Honestly, he was starting to get bored. Between his growing tiredness and his contentedness with his present lot in life, he didn't really need to take out his non-existent frustrations on the pixelized monsters. He shut down the PS3, and made his way to his bedroom.

He changed into his pajamas and tossed himself onto the messy covers. As he buried his head into his pillow he picked up on the faded scent of Maka's favorite strawberry perfume. He grumbled and turned over the pillow to block out the smell. He really didn't need to be thinking about her when he was trying to sleep. He shivered as a cool breeze entered through the small opening in his window. He groaned, and threw the covers over his body. He still couldn't sleep. And he still smelled those damned strawberries.

He bolted from his bed, and marched to his meister's bedroom. Once he had yanked open the door, he peered inside to find Maka passed out beneath the covers. His lips curled into a crooked smile, and he closed the distance between himself and the bed. The young man carefully climbed over Maka's petite form and curled under the blankets himself. He found her waist and wrapped his arms around it, simultaneously burying his face in the hair that now hung loose around her shoulders. That strawberry smell blasted into his nostrils, but this time it soothed him. He snuggled her even more tightly, and was finally warm enough.

He was totally uncool for needing to be next to her to fall asleep. Maybe it would be cooler if they had a bigger bed to share? Unfortunately, even his own bed was too short for him now. His bare feet dangled over the edge of Maka's bed, and he instinctively bent his knees to pull them back under the covers. Maka began to stir.

"Mmm?" she blearily looked for the source of the disturbance. "Soul?"

"Shit," he whispered to no one in particular, "Sorry Maka, I didn't mean to wake you. Just trying to get comfortable."

"Why are you in my room?" she whispered back.

Soul blushed, "I, uh, just felt like it. And just so you know, your bed's too small."

Maka's tired eyes roamed around the twin-sized bed. She quietly giggled, "Yeah, I guess you're right. I can't really afford a new one though."

Then, the gears in Soul's head began to click. The scythe grinned. "No prob. I'll just mooch off my parents."

Maka raised an eyebrow. "What?"

Soul ran a few fingers through the young woman's blonde locks and continued, "Remember at the beginning of February on my 18th birthday when I was pissed that my parents insisted that I let them get me a present, but I refused? Maybe I should take them up on that offer..."

"You're going to use _your_ birthday present to get _me_ a bed?"

He rolled his eyes. "No, you idiot, I'm getting _us_ a bed. And I'll make damn sure that it'll cost my parents an arm and a leg. Hehe..."

Maka was now awake enough to tense up at the idea of losing her precious space. "But whose room would we put it in?" she asked timidly.

Soul picked up on her worried tone and shrugged. "Don't worry, since it'll technically be _my_ bed, we'll put it in my room. This room is too girly for a cool guy like me to sleep in every night anyways."

Maka smacked his arm. Soul hardly noticed.

"I'll call my parents in the morning to let them know I'll be using the credit card tomorrow."

"Wait. They gave you a credit card to use?"

"Yeah. I just don't buy much. I _will not_ be some stereotypical little rich boy."

"I know." Maka smiled, then curled up against him, ready to go back to sleep. "'Night," she whispered.

"'Night Maka."

* * *

~end chapter 9

Ahh, warm fuzzies. And thus, bed shopping commences. Haha. That'll be fun.

And for those who noticed, I have made Soul's western zodiac sign Aquarius. Since I'm an Aquarius myself, I can't help but pick up on the fact that his character just oozes the qualities of the oddball sign of the zodiac. I'm also trying to come up with signs for all 7 main characters. So far my guesses are:

Soul: Aquarius (rebellious and aloof)  
Maka: Aries (stubborn and ambitious)  
Black Star: Leo (attention whore and impulsive)  
Tsubaki: Libra (balanced and a peacemaker)  
Kid: Virgo (detail-oriented and intellectual)  
Patty: Gemini (flighty and easily amused)  
Liz: Pisces (emotional and flexible)

Any thoughts?

~Love, Ash


	10. Chapter 10

Unintended Medicine

by PuppyNoelle

Description: Maka goes on the Pill to help alleviate her troublesome menstrual symptoms, but things become skewed when Soul finds out about her new prescription. SoulxMaka, multi-chap, Lemony!

A/N: I got some great reviews again you guys, thank you! There were actually a couple replies I wanted to make to people's comments on my choices of zodiac choices.

First, CrackerJackMagoo did bring up an interesting idea about the Thompson sisters' ages. According to canon, Liz is the elder of the two, but the size of the age gap is never explicitly stated. Though it is possible for them to be fraternal twins, I've always interpreted the "twin pistol" references as descriptions of their identical weapon forms. I've actually always imagined them as being at least 2 years apart, and, because of Kid pointing out how different they are in human form, I always imagined them as having different fathers too.

And to JiroUchiha: I honestly didn't mean to insult any Leos by associating Black Star with the sign. I adore Black Star, and really don't think he's stupid at all. I've grown up around various mental illnesses, and I think Black Star suffers from a severe case of ADHD. I find his love of the spotlight very endearing, and since that love is one of the top Leo traits, that sign choice was a no brainer for me. I affectionately refer to my Leo best friend as my Black Star, and she loves the comparison so much that she'll refer to me as her Soul. So a Leo-Black Star is a connection that is intended with the utmost love.

Love, Ash~

* * *

Chapter 10

As she was making the scrambled eggs for breakfast, Maka noticed that Soul had gotten up bright and early as well. He gave her a quick morning peck on the cheek, and immediately picked up their home phone, and dialed his parents' number. Maka giggled at the sour look on his face when she heard the tones of a legato soprano voice over the receiver. She couldn't make out what the woman was saying, but her voice sounded so elegant and charming.

Soul grumbled into the phone. "No Mom, I'm not calling to chit-chat! And I don't want you guys hopping on a plane to come visit either-"

The beautiful soprano chimed again, sounding a bit disheartened.

"-No! I'm not coming to see you guys either." Soprano, then baritone.

"Yes, I _know_ Spring Break is coming up. I'm staying here to spend time with Maka!"

Soprano. The baritone was exasperated. "_Maka_, Mom." He paused to listen. "_Yes_, my meister. Wait- what?" Soprano.

Soul blushed. "I, uh... _yes_?"

Suddenly the gorgeous voice of Soul's mother rang loud enough for Maka to hear: "Honey! Honey, come here! Soul has a _girlfriend!_"

While she served their eggs, Maka grinned at Soul's annoyed expression. She had never actually witnessed one of Soul's familial phone calls before. On the rare occasion he _did_ call them, he always locked himself in his room for the duration. I guess there really were no holds barred now that they were officially a couple.

The scythe yelled into the receiver. "NO! Mom, you don't have to get Dad! I was just calling to tell you that I'm gonna use the credit card to get myself a new bed."

The soprano buzzed again.

"Mom, I've grown by like a foot and a half since I got that bed."

His mother must have needed to go at that point, because Soul muttered a reluctant "Love you too..." into the phone and hung up. He sighed and ran a hand through his messy platinum hair as he plopped down into his chair. He looked directly at his plate, avoiding his partner's gleeful eyes.

"Soul...?"

"...Yeah?"

"Are you a _mama's boy_?"

Her weapon blushed profusely. "No, I am _not!_" She's just the only one of those people I can stand to talk to!"

Maka grinned wickedly. "But you said '_Love you too_'! I wouldn't even be able to imagine it, if I hadn't witnessed it myself! Soul Eater Evans _loves_ his _mommy_!"

"Shut _up_ Maka! This is _exactly_ why I never let you listen to my phone calls with her! You're just as guilty of teasing _me_ as I am of _you_." He crossed his arms across his chest. "We're the stupidest fucking 'match made in heaven' _ever_."

Maka giggled at the lame choice of words, but secretly felt like they were pretty accurate. "You know Soul, I just noticed: you didn't curse at all while you were talking to your mom. You curse around all of the adults here. Why is she so different?"

He raised an eyebrow. Maka was _really_ clueless sometimes. He sighed as he tried to explain it, "Look Maka... I know I've never really talked that much about my family, but they're _totally_ different than the people here."

His meister was extremely curious. It was like the different layers of Soul were starting to unravel before her. "Go on..."

He sighed, taking a few more bites of his breakfast before continuing. "Okay, look, I may act all laid back and say whatever I want to here, but back with my family I couldn't do _anything_ I wanted to. I had to do _everything_ a certain way. There were rules for how I dressed, talked, walked, sat, ate, and pretty much anything else you can imagine. I was brought up to be a perfect gentleman, and it was the most smothering environment you could possibly imagine. It wasn't until I came here that I could really start figuring out who I even _am_."

Maka instantly felt a massive pang of sympathy for her partner. She reached out and laced her fingers through those on his free hand, earning a rare sweet smile from Soul.

He clasped her hand tightly and finished his monologue: "So, I don't curse at my parents because I know what the consequences are if I do. I know it may not seem like it to you, but even _your_ over-protective old man is a lot more tolerant than _my _parents are. I'm actually surprised that my mother reacted positively to the news that you're my girlfriend now. Maybe she's just relieved that I'm not gay..." He chuckled darkly.

Maka blinked. "I don't get it. What reasons would she have for not being happy about us being together?"

Soul sighed. "You are _really_ naive sometimes Maka, you know that? My family is full of rich snobs who marry other rich snobs."

"Oh. But none of that matters, right? She was happy with the news, so everything's fine!" Maka beamed.

"You idiot. There's gonna be a lot more hoops for you to jump through than _that_. My mom may be a bit flaky, but she's sharper than a razor blade. I'm her youngest child, she's gonna want to make damn sure you're 'good enough' for me. Personally, I don't give a fuck what _anybody_ thinks of you, and I'd love to be the proverbial thorn in the side of the Evans family for running off with a musically _dis_inclined girl with no money, divorced parents, and a philandering father."

MAKA-CHOP!

"Hey! I was complimenting you!"

Maka grumbled, "Seems like a pretty back-handed way to do it if you ask me."

Soul rolled his eyes. "Whatever... Anyways, lets just finish eating and get ready to go shopping. We have a bed to pick out." He winked at her before turning his full attention to his plate.

Unfortunately for Maka, she was starting to feel a bit insecure. She already knew that Soul's family was full of rich and talented musicians, but she honestly didn't think that they could really be as cold-hearted as Soul made them out to be. This was really the last thing she needed to worry about before their midterms the coming week.

* * *

~end chapter 10

This chapter was shorter, since I've written two this week. I kinda felt bad about disappearing for almost two weeks, plus I've been on a writing binge the last couple days. Being away from writing too long really stresses me out, funny how that works out.

And, okay, so I didn't get straight into the bed-shopping extravaganza... but as I was writing the scene with Soul on the phone with his mother, I got the plot bunny, and _had_ to roll with it. Their relationship was starting to sail along too smoothly... The next chapter will bring the new bed experience, and maybe a little something lemony? ;)

~Love, Ash


	11. Chapter 11

Unintended Medicine

by PuppyNoelle

Description: Maka goes on the Pill to help alleviate her troublesome menstrual symptoms, but things become skewed when Soul finds out about her new prescription. SoulxMaka, multi-chap, Lemony!

A/N: Thanks again for all the comments, I love you guys! And I'd also like to thank everyone for making this my most popular fanfic _ever_! It finally surpassed one of my old stories over the weekend! It has been the front runner on number of hits for a couple weeks, but this past weekend it finally won the race for most favorited story! It still hasn't won the race for number of reviews (219 is the record to beat) but I'm sure it'll get up there eventually. Seeing the large following I'm getting here is really helping to give me the confidence to keep working on my original novel. If I have almost 20,000 hits on a fanfiction, then I can't help but imagine the impact that my own characters could make. Thanks for the support!

And, in response to my lovely reviewer Miyaow: (shh! the plot bunnies are hard at work! lol) and yes, Soul really does love his brother, but, as an introvert, spilling his guts really isn't within his comfort zone. Though, he loves Maka enough that he is really trying hard to be more open. One layer at a time my dear...

Love, Ash~

* * *

Chapter 11

Presently, Maka was being dragged through Macy's department store at the mall in Death City. It wasn't by any means her first time in the store, she and her girlfriends went shopping for clothes there all the time, but the prices and designer names intimidated her. However, she had never been to the back of the store where the home decor section was located.

"Soul...?" she mumbled.

"What is it Maka?"

"Isn't the stuff in this store kinda of... _expensive_?"

"Yeah, who cares? My parents are footing the bill, so don't worry. We'll just pick out whatever suits us the best. Just concentrate on all the different styles, textures, and colors, and pick something that just feels right."

"So, go with my gut?"

"Pretty much. There's a few ground rules though. _One_: Nothing frilly, pink, pastel or floral. That's girly, and totally uncool. _Two:_ Nothing too big. when I took the measurements in my room this morning, I figured we could squeeze in a queen size, as long as it's not too clunky and oversized. _Three:_ Nothing Victorian, Queen Anne style, or to too old fashioned. This is the 21st century for Death's sake, we need to live in the present. And _Four_: Nothing too outdoorsy either, I don't want anything that brings up the image of some lame singing bass or stuffed deer head."

Maka suddenly imagined Soul bolting up in the middle of the night to a fish on the wall singing _Don't Worry, Be Happy_. She laughed out loud. Her partner quirked an eyebrow at her, and she explained, still giggling, "Singing... ha ha... bass... ha ha ha..."

Soul smirked, and grabbed her hand, dragging her giggling form forward. The pair strolled around, looking first at bed frames. Eventually they settled on a modern styled wood frame with a built in headboard. The finish was a dark cherry, and the wood was sturdy without being too clunky and overpowering. Soul whipped out a tiny notepad and pen from one of the cargo pockets on his pants, and scribbled down the information.

Next they moved on to mattresses. Maka watched as a huge toothy grin spread across her weapon's face at the sight of all the giant, white, fluffy rectangles in front of them. He had a certain mirthful gleam in his eyes that she recalled seeing when Soul had stuffed a large, wet, snowball down her coat during the very rare Nevada snowstorm that winter. Before she could do anything to stop him, he dove for the nearest mattress and jumped up and down a few times.

Not wanting to draw any attention to them, he allowed his body to fall after the third jump, but was satisfied with the brief release of his inner child. Maka glided over to the side of the bed smiling at him. He grinned at her before patting next to him on the mattress. "C'mon, it's pretty comfy."

In her peripheral vision, Maka noticed an employee watching them like a hawk. She couldn't help but grin as she joined Soul on the display mattress. Soul was seriously letting loose and having fun. Maka was truly happy to see Soul so at peace. He always put up this cool and laid back front, but seeing him so comfortable in his own skin and so enthusiastic about life... it made her giddy. Then, right there, in the middle of the store, Maka leaned over her boyfriend's grinning face and planted a kiss directly to his lips.

Soul was surprised, but happily received the affection. Maka pulled back and pulled herself off the mattress, then held out a hand to him.

"Come on Soul, we can't lay around here all day."

He rolled his eyes, smiling at her, "Yeah, I know." He took her hand, and let her help lift him up. Once he was solidly on his feet, and stuffed his hands in his pockets and announced, "We're getting this mattress."

"Okay, so we just need to pick out the sheets and a comforter now, right?"

"And get some pillows and shams too."

As the pair scoured through the hundreds of comforters, it was becoming harder and harder for them to come to a compromise. Soul wanted something simple with as few colors as possible, but Maka wanted something with some sort of pattern on it.

"...And you call _me_ boring! Come on Soul! The whole bed can't be just one color!"

"I told you Maka, I don't want anything fancy! Can't you just settle for something simple?"

Maka growled at him, muttering under her breath until she caught sight of a deep charcoal color out of the corner of her eye. Soul was still whining at her when she turned away to walk toward the comforter on display. "Soul, look at _that_ one."

"Huh?" He followed her pointed finger, and peered at the dark comforter. He moved over to take a closer look. It was such a dark grey that it was nearly black. At first glance it appeared solid colored, but upon further inspection he noticed that it had a slightly lighter grey floral and leaf pattern.

"What do you think?" his girlfriend asked excitedly, tugging on his hand.

Soul tentatively reached his free hand out and ran it over the cloth. "Well, I don't hate it. I mean, there are flowers on it, but you can barely see them, so it's not too bad. It's almost black so it would look good on the dark red frame..." He trailed off.

Maka was excited. "Yeah! It's perfect! And we can pair it with some burgandy sheets to match the wood too. Maybe we could get some accent pillows with red and gold in them too. It would still be simple that way, but would have a little splash of color too."

Soul sighed. He figured this really was the best it was going to get. And after all, the comforter really was pretty good. The dark color really did make it more gender-neutral.

"Okay Maka, you win. We'll get the comforter and whatever you want to go with it."

She beamed. "Yay!" She immediately pulled out a bag labeled for queen size, and thrust it into her partner's arms. Then she ran off towards the section with the sheets. Soul smiled as her head disappeared between the shelves. He couldn't help but give in to her demands, especially when she was this excited about something.

As the pair walked home, with bags full of bedding in their arms, Maka couldn't stop humming. The morning had been so perfect, and she was excited for the delivery people to bring the mattress and bed frame over in a couple hours. She and Soul were starting to turn their apartment into a real _home_. The realization was a strange, but welcome one. They were _growing up_. It all felt so natural.

Then Soul pulled her out of her reverie. "You know, for somebody who's clueless about music, you're singing voice isn't half bad. Maybe my mom will like you after all..."

Maka blushed, "Really? So, is your mom a singer then?"

"Yeah," Soul replied, "Mezzo Soprano. She sings opera and musical theatre mostly. She plays piano too, she's the one who taught me."

"Oh _wow_," Maka gushed, "So she must be amazing if she's the one who taught _you _how to play!" Soul blushed beside her, "So did your mom teach you how to sing too?"

Soul's blush deepened. "Yeah, but it's really not my thing. So, can we stop talking about this, and figure out what we're gonna do for lunch? I'm starving."

Maka was a bit taken aback. Soul had been sharing so much of himself lately, but it looked like the floodgates were closing up again. She audibly sighed. She knew her partner all too well: prying would get her nowhere. So she focused on his subject change instead.

"Hmm... well, I think we have some leftover pizza in the fridge. I could throw some of those Pillsbury breadsticks in the oven and make some garlic dipping sauce to go with it."

"Sounds good." Soul replied, but he remained quiet for the rest of the walk home. Maka's humming had ceased too.

No sooner had Soul and Maka finished lunch, then the new bed and mattress arrived. Together they moved Soul's old bed into the living room while the delivery men worked on bringing up the new one. It took the pair a few hours to assemble everything, but the time flew by as they worked together, shooting witty insults at one another's tiny foibles.

Finally, Maka threw the final throw pillow atop the new bed and they both happily collapsed onto it. The meister snuggled up against her weapon, and slowly began trailing kisses along his neck. All that hard work and witty banter had served as foreplay for Maka. She wanted to break in their brand new love nest. Before she had pretty much let Soul take the lead when it came to sex, but now it was her turn.

She left him to walk over to the black laptop on Soul's desk. His eyes followed her as her fingers grazed over the white apple shaped logo on the top. She pulled open the cover and pulled the computer out of hibernation. Her middle finger sensually danced across the mousepad as she pulled up the minimized iTunes program. She pressed the spacebar. The last song that Soul had played rang from the computer. Maka liked it. She pressed the spacebar again. It stopped. She clicked a couple more times to put the song on repeat. She pressed the left arrow key, then the spacebar again. Then the song began from the beginning.

She wandered slowly back over to the bed, in time with the opening of the song. The alto voice came in just as she reached the bed.

_You make me feel like I'm losing my virginity_

_The first time every time when you're touching me_

She gracefully inched closer to his body, leaning over him. Her legs settled around his hips, straddling him. Her torso leaned forward as her lips found their way to his. She kissed him softly, running her fingers through his eternally tousled platinum hair. His arms crept up her sides, pushing up her shirt just enough to expose the soft skin of her midriff.

_Some call it science we call it chemistry_

_This is the story of the bird and the bees_

He gently massaged her sides, and in response she deepened the kiss, parting his lips so that her tongue could meet with his.

_You give me that hummingbird heartbeat_

_Spread my wings and make me fly_

_The taste of your honey is so sweet_

_When you give me that hummingbird heartbeat_

She moaned into his mouth, and untangled her hands from his hair. Her hands roamed down to the hem of his shirt, and they briefly parted as his shirt flew over his head. Masculine fingers made their way to her front and began undoing the buttons of her blouse. Their lips met again as the periwinkle cloth blew away.

_You're so exotic, get my whole body fluttering_

_Constantly craving for a taste of your sticky sweet_

A single dainty hand floated down to the zipper of his olive cargo pants. In one swift movement his pants were halfway down his legs and her hand was gliding beneath the waistband of his navy boxers. Her other hand was behind his head, gently holding it in place as their tongues danced together. His breath hitched as she sensually stroked his length.

_Always on the brink of a heart attack_

_You keep me alive and keep me coming back_

Her lips left his and traveled down to his chest where they travelled gradually downward, planting butterfly kisses. Dulcet baritone moans rang in the air.

_When we're in perfect harmony_

_You make me sound like,_

_Like a symphony_

As her body moved lower, her free hand tossed away the last remnants of his clothing. She trapped his legs between her thighs, as his fingers freed her hair from the restraining pigtails. He clung to her long, ashen blonde locks. Gently, her tongue grazed his tip. His crimson orbs widened and his grip tightened on her hair. "Oh god, Maka..."

_You give me that hummingbird heartbeat_

_Spread my wings and make me fly_

_The taste of your honey is so sweet_

_When you give me that hummingbird heartbeat_

Her tongue continued to explore, while her free hand reached around and gently tickled his balls. When she took the whole tip into her mouth, he threw his head back from the sensory overload. "_Maka_!" he panted.

_Hummingbird heartbeat_

_Hummingbird heartbeat_

_Hummingbird heartbeat_

Suddenly, he bolted up, and pulled her face up to meet his. He captured her lips and reached a hand down beneath her skirt. He tugged at her plain white panties and they fell down to her knees. His other hand made its way down, and together the hands ripped through the thin cloth. His arms encircled her waist as he moved their bodies closer to the headboard. He leaned back against the pillows as she positioned herself above his hips. He brought her lips to his once again, and she slipped her walls down around him.

She tried moving up and down at first, but gradually that motion transitioned into a more comfortable pattern of swirling her hips around his length in a slight circular motion. They fell into rhythm and his hands latched onto her sides, massaging the skin there in the same circular pattern her hips were making on him. Their pace increased until Maka arched backwards. Soul allowed his own release just as his name escaped from his lover's lips.

They both panted as the blonde woman leaned forward wrapped her arms around masculine shoulders. He curled one arm around her back, and then used the other to reach up and stroke her hair. He used his teeth to pull aside the strap of her bra, and gently kissed across the length of her shoulder.

* * *

~end chapter 11

And there is lemon number two, as promised. Next chapter brings more plot bunnies. Chapter 12 is another longer one. I'm almost done with it, so I'll post it in a day or two, after this one has gotten enough time in the limelight.

The song is _Hummingbird Heartbeat_ by Katy Perry. I don't usually include song lyrics in my fics, but since I've pretty much been addicted to her _Teenage Dream_ album for the past few weeks, I couldn't resist squeezing a song in. And yes, I do realize that this means that Soul listens to pop music and love songs. He's too cool to be defined by any one music genre. I'm of the opinion that a _real_ musician will listen to pretty much _everything_. Maybe part of that is my own inner snob as a musician coming out, but I think the best way to improve your own skills in anything is by pushing yourself outside of your comfort zone and absorbing the knowledge you gain from that.

Anyways, please review so that I can get some feedback while I finish up the next chapter! :3

Love, Ash~


	12. Chapter 12

Unintended Medicine

by PuppyNoelle

Description: Maka goes on the Pill to help alleviate her troublesome menstrual symptoms, but things become skewed when Soul finds out about her new prescription. SoulxMaka, multi-chap, Lemony!

A/N: I seriously love this story as much as you guys do. I'm really letting loose as a writer more than I ever have before. And, just to let everybody know, I have already written the final scene of this story. No need to be alarmed though, since I still have a lot of plot to get through before I get there. :3

Love, Ash~

* * *

Chapter 12

Maka and Soul were sprawled out atop the new bed with textbooks and notebooks spread out around them. Soul had retrieved his boxers and put them back on, but Maka still wore only her bra and black pleated skirt. Maka was lying on her stomach with her feet up in the air near the headboard.

"You know," her weapon said casually, "you might wanna put some underwear on, because from here I can see pretty much _everything_. It's really not the best environment for studying."

The meister reached a hand back and smacked his leg. "Well, as I recall, it was _you_ who destroyed my underwear in the first place. You owe me a pair of underwear."

Soul chuckled, "Well then I'm replacing it with another one of those lacy ones. Is that pink one the only one you have?"

Maka rolled her eyes. "Yes, that's the only one I have. I got it when I went shopping with Tsubaki the other day. We went into Victoria's Secret and she had some coupons."

"Well well Maka Albarn, I _never_ would have thought... But you _are_ starting to turn into quite the little vixen now, aren't you?" As his hand began making it's way up the back of her thigh, she twirled around and smacked his hand.

"_Bad Soul_. Study. _Now_. We have two written midterms tomorrow. Need I remind you of your terrible track record on written exams? If it weren't for practicals and group assignments, you'd have dropped out years ago."

He shrugged. "What can I say? I'm not book smart like you are, I'm street smart."

"...Says the rich, little mama's boy."

"Shut up, Maka," Soul replied darkly.

His meister growled and slammed her notes down on the bed. "Okay, that's it, you're gonna have to stop shutting down whenever your family comes up. I may not know all that much about your life with them, but eventually I'm going to meet them, and someday, with _someday_ meaning several _years_ from now, they'll end up being _my_ family too. So grow up and talk to me."

Soul heaved a sigh. "You wanna know about my family? Okay, fine. The Evans family is full of cold, critical, rich assholes who think they're so much better than everyone else. My father is no different than the rest of them. He married my mother for love, unlike most of the family, but if my mother hadn't happened to come from a rich family, I'm sure the match would never have seen the light of day.

"And, although he does love my mom, he never gave a damn about me and my brother. To him, we were just a means of carrying on the family name. He only tolerates Wes because he's the one with everything it takes to be successful in the eyes of the Evans family. He's got impeccable talent, he's charismatic, and he's got the shrewd business sense too. I'm just a lesser version of him.

"Wes is different though, he's more like Mom. Mom's side of the family was always very warm and accepting. She's an only child though, so when my grandparents were gone, there wasn't anybody else left. But Mom and Wes, they didn't care that I was different. Mom was really disappointed when I decided to leave and come here. She wanted me to stay and continue being her protege. Wes was the one who convinced her to let me leave. He was there when I found out I could turn into a weapon, and he was the only one who saw how much I hated my life there.

"So that's it in a nutshell. My life, pre-Maka."

Said girl sat up and scooted closer to him. "So, your dad, did he ever... hit you or anything?"

Soul shrugged. "Not really. I mean, there were times he did get really mad at me when I was little. I was always really curious, asking him tons of questions and stuff, and he'd get pissed and yell at me, telling me to shut up. He never touched me though. I just ran away crying. Eventually I just gave up."

Maka's face wrinkled in disgust. "That's _still_ considered child abuse! Geez, he makes _my_ good-for-nothing Papa look like 'Dad of the Year' or something!"

Her partner quietly chuckled. "Yeah, I guess so. Your old man may be a dumbass, but he really does love you, Maka." Soul pulled his knees up to his chest and rested his chin atop them. "I guess that's part of why I'm so much happier here. I've sort of made my own family here: with you, and Black Star, Tsubaki, and Kid, Liz and Patty, and everybody else. I mean, we're all pretty dysfunctional, but at least everybody _cares_."

The young woman leaned closer and wrapped her arms tightly around his frame. "No matter what Soul, I'll always love you."

He smiled. "I know. Me too."

"Okay!" his meister said, releasing her hold on him, "No more distractions! From here on out we study study study!"

Soul chuckled. "Gotcha."

The next morning when Soul and Maka arrived at school, it appeared that nothing was out of the ordinary. Soul's fangirls still peeked at him sheepishly in the halls. His locker was still flooded with love notes and partner requests, which, as usual, he promptly threw out. No other students even looked at them twice. As the partners walked to their classroom to take their first midterm, it appeared that no one had any idea that they were dating now. Soul raised an eyebrow at Maka. She simply shrugged.

As they entered the classroom, both emerald and crimson eyes latched onto spiked blue hair. However, before they could say anything, Professor Sid was ushering everyone into their seats for the exam.

After their first midterm was over, students began filing out of the classroom, ready to go to lunch. Even Soul had rushed out and disappeared amongst the throng of people, leaving Maka to walk to the cafeteria alone with Black Star. The female meister allowed him to babble on about how he was too big a guy to fail the test, while she mustered up the courage to ask him why he had kept his mouth shut about her and Soul's new intimacy.

"Hey, Black Star?"

He stopped his ramble, and looked at his companion expectantly. "Yeah, what is it, Maka?"

They entered the cafeteria, and found their way to the back of the line. Maka's face tinged pink as the words escaped her lips, "Why didn't you tell anybody about me and Soul?

The blue-haired ninja stared at his friend blankly. "What? Did you _want_ me to tell people?"

"No!" Maka huffed, pissed that he would even think that. "So why didn't you run off telling the whole school?"

Black Star grinned at her. "What kinda guy do you take me for, Maka? If you do something idiotic, then of course I'm gonna spread the word, but you're like my little sister. And big brother's don't gossip about their little sisters."

Maka was touched, until she realized... "Black Star... I'm four months older than you!"

Black Star burst into laughter. "But you're definitely smaller than me! I'm so big, age doesn't even apply to me!"

Just then, Kilik strolled up behind them in the food line. "Gossip about Maka? I gotta hear this!"

Maka tensed up, but when Black Star smirked at her, and began to open his mouth, she glared daggers at him. She made to lunge at him, but it was too late. In the middle of the cafeteria, the words were already out of the ninja's mouth. "Maka's dating Soul now."

The blonde meister was blushing furiously at this point. The heads of all the girls near them in line turned, wide-eyed and slack-jawed for a moment, then immediately turned around and started whispering. Soon the news was traveling up the line in a wave of shocked faces, stares, and whispers.

Just then, Soul strolled up, hands in his pockets, and cut in front of Kilik in line to stand by his girlfriend and best friend. It took him a moment, but he soon chimed in, "Hey guys, why are all the girls staring at us?"

Maka sighed, resigned to her fate as a punching bag for all of Soul's disappointed fangirls. "Black Star just outed us."

"Oh," the scythe-man replied dully, then his expression changed into a smirk. "Well, might as well give 'em a show."

With that, he grabbed his meister's hands and planted a kiss to her lips. Behind them, Black Star and Kilik were jumping around in mirth. They high-fived, Black Star continued whooping, and Kilik whistled and announced, "Get a _room_!"

The moment Soul released her lips, Maka flashed away and both Black Star and Kilik sank to the ground, clutching their skulls. Soul grinned as he saw the textbook slide back into its place inside of Maka's school bag. He loved it when someone else was the Maka-chop victim. He slipped a hand into one of hers and laced their fingers together. His girlfriend smiled sheepishly at him, before taking a more serious tone.

"So what took you so long to get here? You walked out of the classroom pretty quickly after the exam, I figured you'd be here already," she inquired.

He looked her in the eye briefly before returning his attention in front of him. He shrugged, "Nothing much. I just gave your dad a heads up before the rumor mill started. I don't want him showing up at the apartment trying to break down the door at 1 am again."

"Oh, that was probably a good idea."

Black Star chimed in, "Why was your creepy old man banging on your door at 1 am? When did this happen?"

Maka froze, but Soul smoothed things over, "It was last weekend. He just misunderstood something Maka and I were talking about, and flipped out. You know how he's always blowing things out of proportion."

Black Star and Kilik both nodded, neither interested in the idea of hearing an account of another one of the red-headed Death Scythe's overly-emotional displays.

Maka and Soul exchanged swift glances. If only they knew...

The written midterm for Stein's class had been a real doozy. Maka had barely finished the exam in time for the bell. She peered beside her and noticed that Soul was scrambling to write something down before time ran out. She started to feel guilty. They really should have spent more time last night studying instead of wasting so much of their precious time sexing.

She sighed as the timer went off and Stein announced the end of the exam. Her partner's head smacked into the desk. She gently pulled the paper out from under his face, and sympathetically brushed her thumb along his cheek in the process. He peeked over at her, giving her a small smile, before clearing all emotion off his face and leaning back in his usual nonchalant manner.

"And class, don't forget that your midterm practicals will be held at the dueling sites on the school grounds," Stein announced as the bell rang, "Don't forget to look at the sheet on the board outside the classroom to see what your team's time slot is. Keep practicing switching out weapon partners with your teammates. This isn't the final, so I'm not expecting perfection, but since you're about to graduate, I don't want to see any rookie mistakes. Okay. That's all."

Maka navigated her way through the crowd of classmates, and waded up to the list on the wall. Her finger trailed down the list until she found herself, Black Star, and Kid, and their partners listed in the noon slot. They would be eating a late lunch tomorrow.

Just as she turned around, she saw Kid coming up to see the list. She waved at him and gave him a thumbs up, telling him that she already got their time. He looked a bit dazed for a moment, but nodded at her, and turned back around. She raised an eyebrow at his curious behavior, but continued moving out of the mess.

When she was finally clear of the mass of students, the blonde meister approached her teammates, who were all waiting on her: some patiently, and some, like Black Star and Patty, less so.

"Noon tomorrow," she announced to them, as her partner's arm snaked around her waist. "We're on dueling court number 2, Stein's our exam proctor. Since we'll have the morning open, I think we need to decide if we want to practice now, or get up early tomorrow and use the morning to practice."

"Are you kidding? No way are we waiting 'til morning to practice! The great Black Star needs his sleep just as much as any regular mortals!"

"Translation: You'd rather spend the morning doing_ Tsubaki _than doing homework," Liz chimed in teasingly.

Tsubaki flushed while her boyfriend laughed and replied, "Maybe, but no queen of _mine _is going to take an exam without getting plenty of fun and relaxation in first!"

Everyone laughed as Black Star led the way toward the practice grounds. Maka and Soul hung at the rear of the pack, casually holding hands, and laughing at Black Star as the Thompson sisters continued to poke fun at him. Liz was teasing that Black Star was probably more submissive in the bedroom than Tsubaki, when Soul nudged his meister, and pointed at Kid.

"Is something up with Kid?" he whispered quietly enough that no one could hear.

Maka turned her attention to their black and white haired friend, and noticed that he was looking a bit distracted again. The young reaper didn't seem to be paying any attention to the conversation, and was instead quietly watching the back of the eldest Thompson sister.

The blonde whispered into her boyfriend's ear, "I'm not sure... he seemed kind of distracted earlier too. He keeps looking at her." She said, discreetly pointing at the tall blonde a ways in front of them.

"Hmm..." Soul murmured curiously, "You don't think...?"

His meister shrugged. "Well, all the rest of us have been pairing off as of late..."

Then her weapon nudged her, "Go and save Tsubaki from the girls' wrath, I'll see if I can figure anything out."

Maka nodded, and glided up the front and interrupted the Thompson's teasing spree. Soul hung back, falling into step with Kid, who seemed to have been brought back from his trance by Maka yelling, "Leave Tsubaki out of it!" in front of him.

"Hey," Soul said casually, "You still in there, Kid?"

"Huh? What do you mean, Soul?"

"You just looked like you were spacing out, that's all," the silver-haired man replied, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Just wondering if everything's good with you and the girls. You're not really laughing at their jokes like you usually do."

Kid's face filled with the briefest hint of embarrassment, but he recovered in an instant. "No, everything's normal, perfectly normal. Not a thing is out of place. I'm just worried about the exam tomorrow, that's all."

"Oh, yeah. I'm sure we'll do fine. Even Black Star and I have been able to match our wavelengths better recently." Soul wasn't quite ready to give up on the subject though: "Plus Maka and Liz are starting to make a great team too."

Kid visibly twitched a bit at the sound of the elder sister's name, but replied smoothly, "Yes, and Black Star is starting to do well with Patty too. For the longest time he hated the idea of using guns, but I suppose that was just hubris from his ninja heritage."

"Yeah, and hey," Soul nudged his friend in the arm, "You and I are making a pretty cool team too. I told you that my symmetry isn't that bad if you're looking at the right angle. And I was the first one of us weapons to become a Death Scythe anyways."

"Yes," Kid admitted, "And it took me the longest to turn Liz and Patty. Despite the fact that I'm a Reaper, I'm always the last one of us to accomplish anything."

He had the scythe's complete attention. Maybe they were finally getting somewhere.

Kid continued, "I was the last meister in our group of friends to turn my weapons into Death Scythes; and then there's Black Star and Tsubaki, and now you and Maka..."

Soul placed a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Hey, don't feel bad about any of that stuff. It only makes sense that you would take longer to make Death Scythes than Maka and Black Star. You have _two _weapons. Plus you had a real hard time in the Book of Eibon and lost a lot of time there. It's not your fault. And as for the rest, don't worry about it. You'll find someone eventually. And don't be an idiot and rush into anything just because you feel like you have to keep up with me and Black Star."

Suddenly, as the group arrived at their favorite training spot, another loud argument broke out. Kid hesitated for a moment, but decided to take this opportunity to get something off his chest.

"Soul... if I tell you something, will you promise not to tell anyone?"

Now the scythe-man was _very_ curious. He raised an eyebrow and slowly said, "Okay. I promise."

Then Kid leaned a bit closer and quietly whispered his secret into Soul's ear.

* * *

~End Chapter 12

I wasn't planning on doing anything about it this soon, but since so many of you guys expressed the desire for Kid to get a little lovin', I caved much earlier than anticipated. He's not getting a happily-ever-after yet though.

Anyways, I bet you guys already have a solid idea what Kid's secret is. But you'll have to wait for Chapter 13 to see if you guessed everything right. :P

Love, Ash~


	13. Chapter 13

Unintended Medicine

by PuppyNoelle

Description: Maka goes on the Pill to help alleviate her troublesome menstrual symptoms, but things become skewed when Soul finds out about her new prescription. SoulxMaka, multi-chap, Lemony!

A/N: For everyone who responded with a KidxLiz pairing, you are correct! But it's not quite as simple as that...

And the ever lovely Miyaow is going to create a fan comic based on this story. She's not yet ready to begin, but once things are officially in motion, I'll keep you guys updated here and on my profile page. I'm incredibly excited for this development! And I hope that once things get underway, that you guys will be be excited about it too! :3

Love, Ash~

* * *

Chapter 13

Maka was immediately distracted from the argument between Liz and Black Star when Soul's voice rang through the trees.

"You _what?_"

She appeared to be the only person to notice, as Tsubaki was trying to restrain her boyfriend, and Patty and Liz were too busy laughing at him. The blonde meister approached Soul and Kid just as Kid was flailing his arms at Soul, trying to keep him from shouting again.

"What's going on over here?" she inquired, "What surprised you so much Soul?"

Kid's head sunk in embarrassment, and Soul's face looked completely torn. Finally, Kid sighed, and motioned for Maka to come closer. The young reaper made sure that the three of them were completely out of earshot of their other companions before explaining.

"I had sex with Liz the other night."

Maka's jaw dropped.

Instead of being proud of his achievement like most teenage boys would have been, Kid looked forlorn and depressed. He continued, "But it wasn't... We're not... _together_."

"Mercy fuck?" Soul asked sympathetically.

Kid nodded.

"Wait. What's a _mercy fuck_?" the female meister asked.

"Well," her boyfriend explained, "Basically, it happens when one friend is feeling down about something, and the other is trying to provide sympathy." Then, the scythe turned back to Kid, "Let me guess: you were upset about losing the virginity bet, and Liz figured out what was up, and offered herself to you, right?"

Again, Kid nodded. He turned his line of sight towards the eldest Thompson sister as he spoke, "The only problem is that now I have no idea how I'm supposed to act around her! I mean, was it just a one-time deal, and is everything supposed to be back to normal again, or will she want to do it again? I just don't understand how these things are supposed to work..."

Soul smacked Kid in the forehead with his palm. "You _idiot_! You guys didn't set any ground rules first? _Not cool_ Kid!"

While her partner berated their friend, Maka glanced over at Liz, and tried to assess the older blonde's actions. There didn't appear to be anything amiss. The only thing that seemed any different was that her teasing was a bit relentless today. But even that really wasn't an out of the ordinary occurrence. Some days she was just a little more emotional than others.

Finally, Maka decided what she was going to do to get to the bottom of this. She sucked in a deep breath, and yelled, "EVERYBODY SHUT UP!"

Dead silence. Black Star and the sisters froze mid argument, and Soul released Kid's shirt collar. All eyes were on Maka as she marched to the center of the clearing.

"We're here to practice for the exam tomorrow. Liz and Patty, you two are with me. Kid, you work with Soul for now-" the blonde meister shot her weapon a meaningful look, and recognition clicked in his eyes. "-and Black Star," Maka continued, "if you don't mind, I'd like for you to start off with Tsubaki for now."

The ninja shot her a thumbs up. "No problem!"

Soul straightened his posture and jumped into the air, transforming, and was caught perfectly perpendicular to the ground in both of Kid's hands. Tsubaki transformed into her chain scythe mode, and the Thompsons approached Maka, easily falling into her hands in the traditional pistol wielding position.

The mood had completely shifted. Everyone tensed, awaiting Maka's signal.

"GO!"

Everyone's voices rang simultaneously: "SOUL RESONANCE!"

Maka felt Liz and Patty's wavelengths surrounding her, and she concentrated most of her attention on Liz. She bounded away from Black Star as he jabbed at her. She felt the air whip behind her as Soul's blade severed a few irrelevant strands of her ashen hair. She aimed Patty to her left where Black Star was poised, and pointed Liz directly at Kid's face.

The younger sister fired, barely missing her target. However, just when Maka was about to pull the other trigger, she was overwhelmed by a wave of guilt from the soul of the elder sister. The image of an open mouthed and fascinated Kid flashed across her eyes. As her knees buckled beneath the weight of the emotion, Maka realized that perhaps pointing Liz at her meister while they were resonating hadn't been the best idea.

As Maka crashed to the ground, Liz instantaneously switched back to her human form, and knelt above her friend, bawling.

"Oh _Maka_, I am _so_ sorry!"

Patty, who was also hit hard by her sister's emotional wave, had also reverted to human form and was sprawled out on the ground beside Maka.

"Sis, what the heck _was_ that?"

"That's what _I'd_ like to know," Black Star said, as he cautiously approached the scene in front of him.

Tsubaki and Soul both transformed back, and rushed to help Patty and Maka to their feet. The young death god simply stared blankly at the eldest of his two weapons.

"It's okay guys," the female meister said, shooing away her boyfriend's protective arms. She grabbed the sobbing pistol's hand and pulled her to her feet. "Come on Liz, we need to_ talk_."

"Hey! Wait for _me_!" Patty yelled as she dashed after the other two blondes.

Soul watched as his girlfriend disappeared into the trees with the two sisters. Liz's barrel had been aimed straight at Kid's face. He had a sneaking suspicion that he knew what had set Liz off. He peered over his shoulder. Kid stood still as stone, with his head hung so low that his bangs obscured his eyes. The scythe heaved a sigh. Through their soul connection, he had felt his companion's fear as he looked down the barrel of the weapon that he had been intimate with only a couple of days prior.

"Oh man... Kid, you guys are on a whole other _plane_ of uncool, aren't you? Of all people, I would've expected _you_ to be the most sensible about this kind of thing. Seriously, I could easily see me or Black Star fucking things up with our partners that way, but she's been quietly suffering too, and _you_ didn't even notice!"

Kid looked as if he were on the verge of tears. "I'm sorry. I just... I didn't think it would change anything! How was I supposed to know? Everything has gone so smoothly for you and Black Star, I didn't think that it would get so complicated for me."

Soul shook his head in exasperation. "Dude, sex complicates _everything_."

Black Star and Tsubaki both blinked in confusion. "Guys, what the _fuck_ is going on?" the ninja asked, beginning to get perturbed.

Meanwhile, the three blondes had finally reached a stopping point. Maka released her grip on Liz's hand, and hugged her. Patty silently looked on from the sidelines.

"It's okay Liz. I know what happened between you and Kid."

Liz sniffled, "Y-you do?"

"Yeah, Kid told Soul and I," Maka replied, pulling back and smiling gently at her friend. "And I'm not here to judge you, or call you stupid for not thinking about the consequences either. Kid's having just as much trouble dealing with it as you are."

Liz rubbed away the last of her tears, and looked up at her friend, relief beginning to appear on her face.

Patty approached timidly. "Sis, what happened with you and Kid?"

The elder sister leaned back and sighed. She refused to look her younger sibling in the face as she spoke. "On Saturday night I slept with him."

Patty's eyes widened. "Why didn't you tell me?" She reached out and laced her fingers into her sister's. "You should know that you can tell me anything. I don't want you to feel guilty or sad, and I don't want you and Kid to be awkward around each other."

Liz squeezed her sister's hand and said, "I'm sorry Patty. I promise I won't keep any more secrets from you. It's just..." the pistol looked back up at Maka, "after it was over, Kid just acted so detached, like he didn't even care. He hardly even looked at me at all, and he's barely talked to me over the last couple days. I didn't know what to think..."

Maka took Liz's other hand and said, "He hasn't been able to take his eyes off of you today, when you weren't looking, anyways. He probably intended it to be just a casual thing, but I think he probably just misjudged his own feelings."

Liz sighed. "Yeah, I guess I did the same thing, huh? It's just, I never even saw the possibility of being with him, until after it already happened. Then I just became terrified of screwing it up, just like I have with every other guy."

Patty giggled, "You worry too much, big sis! Just go and talk to him!" She smacked her sister hard on the back in encouragement.

Maka laughed, "I'm with Patty. You'll both feel better if you talk about it. And then once you two have everything settled, we can get back to practice."

The eldest blonde smiled, "Thanks you two. I think I'm ready to go back now."

The younger girls smiled at one another, before jumping up, and pulling Liz up with them.

When the trio arrived back in the clearing, Maka bounced over to Soul smiling. He caught the proud gleam in her eyes, and draped his arm over her shoulders as soon as she was close enough. Everyone watched curiously as Patty shoved her sister in their meister's direction.

"Um, Kid, can we go talk somewhere for a minute?"

Black Star pushed his fellow meister forward. "Go ahead man. We've got all night. We can wait to practice until you two get back."

The black and white haired man glanced at Soul, who grinned and nodded at him. Kid nodded back, and followed Liz into the mass of trees surrounding the clearing.

"Geez Soul," Black Star grumbled, "you and Maka finally hook up, and then _everybody_ starts hooking up, too. Who's next?" The ninja pointed at the younger Thompson sister, "This one and Kilik, maybe?"

"Hey!" Patty yelled, placing her hands on her hips and pouting, "I'm not _hooking up_ with _anybody_!"

Black Star roared with laughter. "Chill out! Ha ha, I was just kiddin' around! But I guess that officially makes _you_ the last virgin among us, eh, Patty?"

Patty's eyes narrowed, and in a quietly intense voice she said, "What makes you assume I'm a virgin?"

All four of her companions stared at her open-mouthed... until Patty burst out laughing.

"Ha ha ha ha! _Gotcha!_"

Liz and Kid re-emerged while Patty was rolling on the ground in mirth. However, at the arrival of her sister and meister, she immediately popped back up and looked up at them expectantly. "Soooo?"

Kid looked around at all of his friends, and smiled. "We're going to give the dating thing a try."

"Yay!" the young Thompson shouted as she threw her fist into the air.

Everyone briefly congratulated the pair, before resuming their practice battle. The rest of the battle went smoothly, and everyone was resonating much more strongly than before. They all went out to dinner together to celebrate.

When Soul and Maka arrived back at their apartment, Maka noticed the red blinking light on their old answering machine. She approached the electronic box and pressed the play button. A rich baritone voice, strikingly similar to Soul's, came out.

"Hello, Soul, it's Wes."

Her partner froze on his way to the couch.

"I was hoping you would be home from school when I called, but it seems you aren't back yet. Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that Mom jumped the gun a bit, and she's coming over on Friday to see you over Spring Break."

Soul's crimson eyes widened, and his lips curled into a scowl.

"I'm in LA right now, so I'll come over tomorrow to make sure you're prepared for her. She wants it to be a surprise, so she won't be pleased with me, but I don't want you to be caught off guard. I should be there around the time you're done with classes, so I'll meet you at the front entrance. See you tomorrow."

_Beeeep!_

Soul sighed heavily. He finished his walk to the couch and collapsed there.

* * *

~end chapter 13

Tada! For all my reviewers who wanted Kid to get some lovin', there you go! :3 The drama for those two isn't quite over yet though... they have a pretty shaky foundation to start up with. If it weren't for Maka and Soul's insight and quick-thinking, things would still be pretty screwed up for Liz and Kid.

...and that PattyxKilik reference was entirely intended as a joke. You guys can always use your own imaginations, but, for now, I am officially done pairing people off.

And hooray! Soul's family is officially entering the picture! I've been _dying _to get to this part!

~Love, Ash


	14. Chapter 14

Unintended Medicine

by PuppyNoelle

Description: Maka goes on the Pill to help alleviate her troublesome menstrual symptoms, but things become skewed when Soul finds out about her new prescription. SoulxMaka, multi-chap, Lemony!

A/N: I am SO thrilled that you guys liked the last chapter so much! I was actually pretty worried that you guys would read it and sort of be like "WTF?" I really pushed myself with that chapter. The big thing was that I afraid that it would detract too much from Soul and Maka's relationship. But in a backwards kind of way, I guess it showed why they work so well together. Thank you so much for the appreciation!

I also posted a short little song-inspired BlackStarxTsubaki one-shot entitled "Bigger" if any of you guys are interested in reading it. It was just a fluffy little plot bunny that refused to go away until I did something about it. :3

Love, Ash~

* * *

Chapter 14

Maka slowly approached her partner. "Are you okay, Soul?" she asked as she placed her hands on the back of the couch.

Soul peeked open a single crimson eye. "Yeah, I'll be fine." He sighed, "I _told_ her not to come. She's listened to me every other time, but what makes _this time_ any different?"

"Me?"

Her scythe growled. "Yeah, I know... but I've known you for, what? Like five years now? And she didn't even _try _to get to know you until she found out we were _dating_! Geez..."

"Well," Maka said, swinging around and kneeling on the floor beside the couch, "maybe she just doesn't understand how important weapons and meisters are to one another. She's never been here, and you probably don't tell her a whole lot about the kind of work we do, so I can sort of see how it would be difficult for an outsider to understand the relationship dynamics of people here."

Soul opened his eyes again, and reached a hand out to play with one of her pigtails. "You're too smart for your own good, Maka. I guess, I just like my life here exactly how it is, and having them sweep in and disturb that... I don't like it. I don't want things to change."

His meister giggled, and Soul eyed her with a quizzical expression. "Soul," she said, untangling his fingers from her hair and holding them between her palms, "things are already changing anyways. You and I have both changed, and our friends have changed too. You're definitely not the same boy I met five years ago, and you're not even the same man you were five _days_ ago-"

Soul's eyes bulged as her words sank in.

"-It's harder for us to see it, because we've both been changing together, but your family... They haven't seen you in five years, and with the way you've been pushing them away, they may very well be coming here to visit a complete stranger."

Soul sat up and stared directly into her emerald eyes. "You sure are insightful today. Where'd that come from all of a sudden?"

The young woman just smiled and shrugged. "I don't know. It just kind of popped into my head."

The scythe smiled at his partner and leaned down to kiss her on the forehead. "Well, whatever. I'm ready to go to bed, if you are."

Maka nodded. "Okay, just let me get ready first, then I'll meet you in your room."

"'Kay," Soul replied, getting off the couch and strolling into his bedroom.

The next day, the group's practical exam went flawlessly. Since that was their only midterm that day, the seven friends spent the rest of their school day having a picnic lunch on the grounds. Maka had just knelt down to help Tsubaki serve the picnic fare, when she was suddenly grabbed from behind. She saw two camouflaged legs settle on either side of her body as her back was pressed into Soul's chest. A thin black cord ran up the arm that was around her waist, and she heard the faint buzz of a heavy dance song with multiple male voices layered together. Ever since she had played that song aloud on Soul's laptop, she had been much more interested in the kind of music her partner listened to while he wore any one of his many fancy pairs of headphones.

She reached down and pulled the shiny, neon blue iPod from her weapon's hand. Soul finally realized what his lover was doing, and scrambled to recover the tiny device.

"No! Maka! Give it _back!_"

"_What?_ I just want to see what you're listening to..." He snatched it back, but not before she had caught the artist's name on the screen. Maka twirled around 180 degrees and stared directly into his face.

"You listen to the _Backstreet Boys?_"

His face flushed nearly as bright as his eyes. "Dammit, Maka! Did you have to announce it to the whole fucking _world_?"

Black Star and Patty promptly crashed to the ground kicking around in their laughter, and Kid and Liz both sniggered loudly. Soon, Maka began giggling as well.

Tsubaki sweetly interjected, "I don't see what's so wrong with it. I listen to them too..."

The blue-haired meister pulled himself up from the ground and gently smacked his girlfriend on the ass. "You're a _girl_, it's okay for _you_ to like them, but Soul's supposed to be a _cool manly guy_!" Black Star returned his attention to his best friend, "Dude, you just lost like _fifty_ cool points!"

"Let's just hope we don't have to hear him serenade Maka..." Liz chimed in.

"_Shut. Up!_ I'm not serenading _anybody_," Soul retorted, seething. "And, not that any of you _dumbasses_ would have a clue, but their vocal technique is impeccable, they write a lot of their own songs, _and_ they have some of the best producers in the business!"

His companions laughed even harder.

When Maka finally caught her breath, she smirked at her partner, looking straight into his defiant eyes.

"Soul, I think you just released your inner nerd."

Once realization sunk in, he promptly plopped to the ground, snarling and refusing to look at any of his companions. His thumb swirled in a circular motion over the front of his iPod, and the volume dramatically increased as he blocked everything else out.

His friends continued to chuckle at him for a few minutes, but they were soon distracted by the food that Tsubaki was handing out. Maka loaded a plate to the brim with food, and, while her friends were distracted by yet another Black Star ramble, she hovered over Soul with the plate.

Even with his eyes closed, he knew when the sunlight in front of him was no longer present. He peeked an eye open to see his meister smiling above him. His thumb tapped the pause button.

"You really should eat something Soul. You can't just lie there and pout all afternoon."

He opened his other eye and sighed. He sat up, and Maka placed herself back between his legs, and curled up against his chest. He smiled lightly when she placed the plate on her lap, and used a fork to poke at the mashed potatoes. He noticed a second fork on the plate, and reached around her to pick it up and spear a pair of miniature pigs-in-a-blanket.

When the group finally split up, Black Star let loose one final jab at Soul's music choice, before bouncing away with his own partner. As the ninja walked away, Soul rather immaturely stuck his long tongue out at his friend's back. Maka lightly smacked her partner's arm, and grabbed his hand to drag him away toward the main entrance. They had somewhere to be.

Beside her, Soul fell back into his typical slouchy posture, but stuffed only his free hand into a pocket. He took his other hand and squeezed her fingers a little tighter. Maka led the way to the main entrance, and after their arrival, her eyes scanned all the people in the area for a glimpse of anyone who looked like they might be related to Soul.

"You _know_ that a musician should _never_ stand with such atrocious posture," rang a teasing baritone voice from behind them.

Maka and Soul both whipped around, breaking their hold on each other's hands. The scythe-man instinctively stood up straighter than his meister had ever witnessed before. The young woman's eyes locked onto the voice's source. The young man in front of her looked almost like a mirror image of her partner. He was a couple inches taller, and his hair and clothes were much neater, but he had the same shocking white hair, crimson eyes, and slightly tanned skin.

Wes laughed airily and said, "Relax Soul, I'm not going to continuously nag at you about your posture like Mom always did."

The younger man immediately slouched back down, making him appear even smaller than his brother. Then, the elder brother turned to Maka, and extended a hand in greeting.

"You must be Maka. My name is Wesley Evans, but you can call me Wes. It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Miss Albarn."

Maka reached for his hand and firmly shook it. Unlike her partner, Wes was so _polite_. Yet he somehow managed to remain somewhat casual about it as well. Perhaps it was the dramatic physical attributes they shared, but both young men shared the same mysterious charm.

"So," Soul said, noticing his girlfriend's fascination with his elder brother, and searching for a distraction, "What's on the agenda Wes? Or do you just wanna hang out to start off with?"

The older Evans brother returned his attention to his sibling. "Well, first I'd like to see your apartment. I'm curious to see where you live."

"Alright," Soul replied, "Let's go." He grabbed his meister's hand again, and proceeded down the steps. As they walked, the weapon noticed that the lustful eyes of nearly every female they passed flitted back and forth between he and his brother. He frowned. While he _did_ want the fangirls to leave him alone, the last thing he needed was for them to constantly bug him about his brother. Wes was twenty-three after all, and way out of these girls' league. The life that the rest of the Evans family lived was a completely different world.

When the trio reached the street, Soul and Maka kept right on walking, but Wes lagged behind.

"Hold on a minute Soul. Are we _walking_ to your apartment?"

Both he and his meister peered back at the older man.

"Yeah, why?" the younger man replied.

"You don't have cabs or a car or anything?"

Soul rolled his eyes and continued walking. "I have a motorcycle, but it's at home. We walk almost everywhere. Death City _does _have a cab service, but the city's so small there's no point in wasting the money to take one. People in Manhattan walk too. It's not like it's all that different."

"_Wait_," Maka interrupted, "Soul, you never told me you were from New York City!"

He peered over at her apologetically. "Sorry Maka. I guess I just kinda assumed you already knew."

"Why doesn't that surprise me?" was her slightly exasperated response.

"Soul, you've known this girl for _five years_, and you never told her where you're from?" his brother was genuinely surprised.

Maka saved her boyfriend from having to answer, "It's not like he's the most forthcoming partner anyways. Except when he's being an idiot, he's a pretty quiet person. Sometimes I wish he'd talk more, but," she shrugged, "most of the time I prefer to go off and do my own thing too."

"Yeah, like being a nerdy little bookworm who- _Ow!_ Maka, that wasn't cool!"

Wes chuckled behind them. "_What?_" they both grumbled in unison.

"Nothing," the human man waved them off, "Let's keep going."

* * *

~end chapter 14

The next chapter will reveal a lot to you guys about where this story is headed. I actually _almost_ let the secret slip in chapter 13's author notes, but I decided I wanted to wait. So, plot bunnies will be revealed during Wes's visit.

On another note...

I've already revealed quite a bit about my version of the Evans family, but there is one little detail that I probably won't be able to sneak in, that I wanted to share with you guys.

I just revealed that Soul was born and raised in Manhattan. To give you a little bit more detail, his family home is located on 77th and Park Avenue, right by Lenox Hill hospital. I chose this location because it is where the very grand and elegant apartment of Charlotte York (from Sex and the City) is located. When I imagine Soul's family home, I imagine that apartment. There's a short photo slideshow of it on HBOs website if you guys want to see my inspiration. It won't let me include the link here, but if you google "Charlotte York apartment" it's the first site that shows up.

Hahaha... Soul is such a little rebel.


	15. Chapter 15

Unintended Medicine

by PuppyNoelle

Description: Maka goes on the Pill to help alleviate her troublesome menstrual symptoms, but things become skewed when Soul finds out about her new prescription. SoulxMaka, multi-chap, Lemony!

A/N: I have so many reviewers that I'd like to respond to, but it's after 2am and my alarm goes off at 6, because I have to finish my senior project tomorrow morning... So yeah, need. sleep.

Love, Ash~

* * *

Chapter 15

When Soul, Maka, and Wes arrived at the apartment, the older man quietly took in every detail. Although Maka had spent practically the entire morning cleaning, she still fluttered around, making sure things were spotless. Soul really didn't like the silence, because he, like his meister, almost felt like his brother's silence was a quiet form of judgement. He wanted to defend his quaint little home.

"I know it's not very big, and there's a ton of stuff crammed in everywhere, but it's got everything we need."

Wes shook his head, "No, I like it. I think it suits you very well Soul. Even all the bright, mismatched colors."

Maka stopped her fretting, and her partner's lips parted into a toothy grin. Wes's own less-sharp teeth formed a grin of their own. Then, the two brothers made their way to the couch and fell into easy conversation. Maka had never heard her partner talk so much to anyone other than herself. It was as if the years the brothers spent apart had opened up the floodgates for a massive backlog of information. The meister almost felt as if she were an intruder, barging in on a private conversation.

The young woman stood by the kitchen table, observing the two young men from a distance, until her boyfriend got up from the couch. Although his intention was to merely grab drinks from the refrigerator, he smiled brightly at her, and placed a twenty-four ounce bottle of Mountain Dew into her hand. After he had secured the rims of two more bottles between the fingers of his right hand, he laced the fingers of his left hand into her free one. From there, he led her over to join he and his brother on the couch, and draped his arm around her shoulders as the conversation resumed.

Gradually, the brothers weaned her into the conversation. Wes asked her questions about her life and her family, and Soul egged her on to tell stories about dumb things her father had said or done. Finally, as six o'clock reared its head, Maka rose from the couch, and announced that she was going to prepare dinner. The brothers readily agreed. However, when the meister searched through the fridge and cabinets in search of ingredients, she realized that they didn't have enough food.

"Soul..." she growled.

Her weapon turned around in his spot on the couch to look at her. "What?"

"We don't have any food."

"How the hell is that my fault?"

"Because, you idiot, you know that Sunday is grocery shopping day, and you dragged me to go bed shopping instead!"

Her weapon smirked. "As I recall, you didn't seem to take issue with that on Sunday."

_Maka Chop_! Wes stared, wide-eyed, as the seemingly harmless book collided with his younger sibling's skull.

"What on earth...?"

Soul gingerly rubbed his cranium and replied, "It's okay Wes. She does it all the time."

His brother stared at him incredulously, "Are you serious? You just let her _hit you_ like that?"

Maka glared at the older man, book twitching slightly in her hand, as she tried to restrain herself from hitting him too. Funny how much more comfortable she was now that they had all talked for a couple hours.

Soul caught his meister's tiny twitch, and said, "Just drop it Wes, or she might 'Maka Chop' you too. It's not cool, but sometimes she does that when she's pissed." He returned his attention to his girlfriend, "Maka, why don't you just go to the store now? It's still early enough, and Wes and I can hang out here and wait for you."

She pouted, but accepted. "Fine. I'll be back soon." With that, she snatched her purse off the countertop and marched out the front door, slamming it behind her.

Soul leaned back into the couch and sighed in relief. "She'll cool off after the walk," he told his brother.

"I hope so," Wes replied, still shaking off the shock from earlier. "But..." he trailed off.

"What is it, Wes?" Soul replied.

The elder brother pursed his lips before replying, "It's just... You've changed so much Soul."

"How do you figure?"

"Well," his sibling continued, "for one, I've never seen you so dependent on anyone before. You were always so fiercely _in_dependent when you were younger. Yet with Maka, you simply allow her to take charge or knock you down a peg without putting up much of a fight. And the way you just _hover _around her... it's almost the same way the Moon orbits the Earth. I never would have imagined that you would bend your own will so easily to someone."

Soul shrugged. "Maka's just kind of a bulldozer. You couldn't push her around if you tried. She's got her own way of doing things. Most things don't really bug me, and she is willing to compromise sometimes too. And I'll call her out when she's being a dumbass, but with most of the things she does, she really has both of our best interests at heart."

"You really do love her, don't you?"

Soul peered over at his brother and sank a little deeper into the couch. "Yeah."

Wes smiled. "If I didn't know any better, I'd be tempted to think that the intensity of your relationship might be a bit unhealthy."

"Huh?"

The elder brother shrugged. "You two really are so very in sync with each other. I almost get the feeling that, if something serious were to happen to either one of you, the other would start to crumble and fall apart, too. If you weren't out there risking your lives for each other constantly, then I'd probably think of that kind of synchronicity as unhealthy. But perhaps that's also why you two have survived so long."

Soul remained silent. There was a strong part of him that knew his brother was right. They had already gone through it once before. He raised his hand up to his chest, where the long scar would always faintly reside.

"You're right," the scythe said, standing up. "Maka and I... we would gladly die for each other." Then, he unbuttoned his school shirt to reveal the scar to his brother.

Wes's eyes bulged and his jaw dropped as he took in the sight of the slightly jagged line that traced his brother's features from shoulder to hip.

"Oh my... Soul. How...?"

Soul re-buttoned all but the top couple, and sat back down. He explained everything to Wes, leaving out no detail. After he had finished his story, Soul stared at his brother with the utmost seriousness and sincerity. "Please, don't tell Mom. I honestly don't think I could ever look her in the face again if she knew."

"Of course," Wes replied, "I suppose your devotion to each other makes even more sense now. And for that to happen when you two were still so young... With the bond you two must have, I'm actually surprised it's taken you this long to start dating."

"Well," Soul replied, leaning back again, "Maka pretty much hates men."

"Because of her father?"

"Yeah. She was always cool with teachers. And she grew up with our friend Black Star, and another one of our friends, Kid, he's Lord Death's son, so she was okay trusting both of them."

"But what about you? How did she end up trusting you?"

"I played for her. I played what I was feeling, and we've been together ever since."

Wes chuckled, "Forget 'love at first _sight_', I guess this was 'love at first _sound_'."

Soul snorted. "That was definitely uncool, Wes."

His older brother grinned at him, before turning more serious again. "Oh Soul. There was something I wanted to ask you."

"What is it?"

"Do you have any plans for what you're going to do after you graduate?"

The younger brother looked a bit dumbfounded. "Uh... not... really?"

Wes laughed. "How come that doesn't surprise me?"

Soul grumbled, "Well I was pretty much just waiting for Maka to decide what she was gonna do... I know she said she wanted to go to college to be a writer, and she's already been accepted to a ton of schools, but she hasn't made up her mind yet."

His elder brother shook his head. "So you haven't even thought about _yourself?_ Or what _you_ want to do?"

The weapon slouched down on the sofa. "No. I don't really care _what_ I do, or _where_ I go, as long as Maka's there."

The older man chuckled as he got up from the couch, and walked over to his overnight bag. He rummaged inside, and quickly withdrew a thick manila envelope. Wes returned to the sofa and placed the envelope into his little brother's hands. Soul opened the envelope, and dumped the contents onto his lap. It was packed full of college acceptance letters.

"I sort of had a feeling that you wouldn't get around to it, so I filled out the applications for you. I didn't really know what your plans were, so I filled out applications for schools all around the country."

Soul's mouth hung open as he picked through the envelopes, staring at all the different university names stamped in ink.

"This was the main reason I wanted to come before Mom got here. She doesn't know I did this. But she _is_ planning on asking you a ton of questions about what you're doing for college. I wanted you to be at least somewhat prepared."

As Soul picked through all of the letters, he noticed the same common denominator. "All of these letters say 'Exploratory' as the major? You're not going to push me into Music school?"

"Well," Wes replied casually, "I honestly want you to figure out what _you_ want to do for yourself. I figure you'll probably end up doing something music related, but it's _your_ education. Though I did make sure to put in schools with music programs."

"Well..." Soul slowly formulated his words, "Kid is going to NYU to study Ancient History, and the girls are going to the Art Institute nearby for Fashion Design..."

His brother smiled. "NYU is in there. I didn't put in Julliard, obviously, because you would have to audition to get in there..."

Soul frowned at the idea of being forced to audition, and stubbornly folded his arms across his chest. "I'm still gonna wait and see what Maka wants to do."

Just then, said girl entered the apartment, trying to hold onto multiple grocery bags at once. "Soul, a little help would be nice!"

"On it," he said, bolting from the couch to her side.

While the weapon and meister pair put away the groceries, Wes strolled over to the kitchen and leaned on the countertop near Maka.

"So, Maka, what are your plans for college?"

She seemed a bit surprised by the question, but answered truthfully. "Oh, well, I want to study Literature somewhere, but I'm really not sure where I want to go." She quickly glanced over at her partner, "I guess I'm sort of waiting to see where Soul wants to go."

The box of pasta slipped through her weapon's fingers, and crashed onto the counter as he rounded on his meister, "You _what_? Maka, you idiot! I have no fucking clue what I'm going to do! I've been waiting for _you_ to decide first!"

His girlfriend flushed from embarrassment, and his brother laughed in amusement.

"Well, whatever," the scythe-man grumbled, "We can talk about it later. Let's just make dinner right now."

Wes continued to watch the pair with amused fascination written on his face.

A few hours later, Maka came out of a very refreshing shower. She needed to pamper herself a bit after the stress of her day: taking a practical exam and meeting her boyfriend's older brother for the first time took a lot out of her. After she had dressed in her pajamas, she strolled out of the bathroom and made her way to her bedroom door. She took a quick peek into the living area as the Evans brothers put the freshly washed sheets onto Soul's old bed, which was temporarily squeezed between the back of the loveseat, and the windowed wall behind it. Maka smiled to herself as she watched the brothers bicker about how the curtains would be drawn while Wes slept.

She lightly shook her head and entered the privacy of her own bedroom. She tossed her clothes and wet towel into the laundry bin, and meandered over to her bookcase in search of her favorite berry scented lotion. Just as she was smoothing the creamy liquid onto the soft skin of her legs, her bedroom door was unceremoniously swung open. Her weapon casually strolled inside, still shouting something back at his older brother.

He slowly turned to his meister, and said, "Hey Maka, what do you think about the—"

He froze. His crimson eyes followed his girlfriend's hands as they gently massaged her long legs. That damned strawberry scent flooded his nostrils again.

Maka innocently peered over at him, and asked, "What do I think about _what_ Soul?"

"Uh..." He had been temporarily rendered speechless. It was odd how such a simple, inoffensive gesture on her part could send his mind plummeting straight to the gutter. He urgently needed to be over there, touching those perfect legs himself...

Maka glared at her partner. "_Earth to Soul_! Why are you standing there looking like an idiot?"

He couldn't even begin register the meaning of her words. He was entranced. The young man inched closer, eventually reaching his lover's bed. He experimentally ran his hands up and down her calves. They were smooth, and still slightly damp from both the shower and the lotion.

The young woman felt a shiver shoot up her spine. "Soul?" she questioned, a bit confused, yet stimulated, by her partner's actions.

The scythe man's hands crept up to her thighs. His meister released a nearly inaudible moan.

"Hey, Soul, come back here, I'm not—"

Wes froze in the doorway. Soul and Maka instantly pulled apart, both blushing furiously. They'd been caught.

"S-sorry!" The older man flipped around, and in his haste, smashed his face into the door. "SHIT!"

Soul jumped off the bed and was immediately at his brother's side.

"Oh fuck! Wes are you okay?"

The elder brother gently pulled his hands away from his nose, to reveal the stains of a few drops of burgundy liquid.

"Shit! That nosebleed _better be_ from the _door_!" Soul growled, relieved that his brother wasn't seriously injured.

Maka grinned. Apparently Soul wasn't the only male in the family prone to nosebleeds at the sight of attractive members of the opposite sex.

"Of _course_ it was from the door!" Wes retorted, "The _last_ thing I want to think about is my _younger _brother doing anything even remotely sexual!"

Soul merely grumbled and pushed his brother out of the room, and down the hall towards the bathroom.

"If you so much as _think_ about telling Mom that I'm sleeping with Maka, then I _will _kill you!" was the last thing the meister heard before she fell into a fit of laughter.

* * *

~end chapter 15

And there is the big secret! Maybe it's not so big, but oh well. Now you guys know where the story is headed. Actually, now you guys know where the _sequel_ to this story is headed. Yes, that's right, I plan to continue with everybody in college! Yay! If that sounds good to you guys, give me a thumbs up!

Right now, I _definitely_ need to sleep... Finals suck.

~Love, Ash


	16. Chapter 16

Unintended Medicine

by PuppyNoelle

Description: Maka goes on the Pill to help alleviate her troublesome menstrual symptoms, but things become skewed when Soul finds out about her new prescription. SoulxMaka, multi-chap, Lemony!

A/N:

Miyaow: No worries, somehow I always manage to get enough sleep :P And I do see where you're coming from about wanting a further curriculum for weapons and meisters, but I see these characters as more ambitious than that. I think they all have their own passions on top of the work they do for Lord Death, and especially with Maka and Kid, I want to see them pursue those passions. :3

And Byrios: thanks for the message, I'm actually glad you mentioned it in a message instead of a review, because that was my plan, and I want it to be a surprise! XD I've actually been brainstorming ideas since I first brought the idea in. No worries, I don't like leaving unresolved plot elements ;)

Love, Ash~

* * *

Chapter 16

The rest of Soul and Maka's midterms flew by fairly smoothly. And they also managed to avoid anymore awkward run-ins with Wes by planning their 'intimate' moments for when Wes left the apartment to take care of his business affairs or explore more of Death City on his own. The elder Evans brother actually left the apartment quite frequently, conveniently enough for his younger sibling.

After their last final, Soul and Maka returned home to find Wes out. He left a note, saying that he had gone back to LA for the day to talk to his producer, and would meet them at the airport in time to pick their mother up that evening. Consequently, the young couple spent their afternoon as most young couples would.

"Oh, yes... Maka!" Soul panted out as his meister continued to grind their hips together. He would never admit it to anyone, but he secretly loved it when Maka took charge in the bedroom. It was so uncool... but it felt _damn_ good.

Finally, they both hit their climax, and a sweaty Maka wearily fell down beside her lover on the bed. After they had both cuaght their breath, Soul rolled onto his side and wrapped his arms around his meister, puling her body against his chest. She giggled and quickly pecked his lips. The young woman reached an arm over to the nightstand, and picked up her partner's cellphone to check the time. It was still only 5:17.

Maka replaced the phone, then asked her partner, "So, what time do we have to be there to pick your mother up again?"

Soul chuckled and ruffled her hair, "_That's_ what you think about post-sex? Geez Maka, why don't you make me feel a little more insecure, huh?"

She smacked his arm. He shot her a cheeky grin. "Okay, _one_, you weren't doing any of the hard work that time, and _two_, I'm practical, which you damn well already know, and I _refuse_ to be late picking your mother up from the airport because _we_ were too busy acting like horny teenagers!"

Soul's grin widened, "But we _are_ horny teenagers..."

He was promptly smacked again. "Yes, _but_ that's the last thing that any of our parents need to know."

He guffawed at her, "Chill Maka, her plane doesn't land until 6:30. Which means we still have more than an hour, aaaaall to ourselves." He pecked her cheek, and playfully began trailing kisses down the side of her neck.

However, his meister reluctantly pushed him away. The scythe-man pouted like a 5-year-old denied his favorite toy.

"Your brother could come waltzing back into this apartment at any minute, and _you_ want round two? Soul, do you want another repeat of Tuesday?"

"Geez Maka, relax. What is _with_ you? I'm just joking around, and you're taking things _way_ too seriously." And then it clicked. "_Wait a second_. Are you _nervous_ about meeting my mother?"

Her blush gave her away, but she shook her head vehemently anyway. "No!"

Soul sweetly leaned in closer and kissed her forehead. "Don't worry about it. If she doesn't like you, then she's an idiot. I love my mom, but there's _nobody_ in the entire world who can change my mind about you."

His girlfriend snuggled closer, burying her head in his shoulder. He felt her warm breath against his skin, when she finally mumbled, "Thanks Soul."

Soul and Maka arrived at the airport ten minutes before his mother's flight was supposed to land. Maka was twiddling her thumbs behind her back nervously, while her partner grumbled about the fact that Wes still hadn't made an appearance.

The pair watched the plane land, just a few minutes behind schedule, and they waited as people slowly trickled out. Maka stood on her tiptoes, and searched through the now large crowd of people, but had no idea what kind of woman she was looking for. Finally, her eyes latched onto their target. The only way that Maka knew that this woman was related to Soul was the blood-red color of her eyes. Those crimson eyes locked with Maka's emerald ones, then flitted over in Soul's direction. The woman grinned excitedly as she weaved through the crowd.

Soul's mother was _beautiful_. There was no better word Maka could find to describe her. She had long, straight, flowing hair that looked like gold. It was tied back loosely with a navy blue ribbon, draped over her right shoulder, and the length settled just above her waist. She wore a preppy navy sundress with white paisley patterns woven into the fabric, and pearl jewelry studded her ears, neck and wrists. Her look was polished off with navy, patent-leather, stiletto peep-toe pumps, and trendy white sunglasses perched on the top of her head. She was so youthful and vibrant. She didn't look old enough to have two grown sons.

"_SOUL!_" the soprano squealed, unceremoniously dropping her white leather overnight bag to floor, as she flung her arms around her youngest son.

"_Oh Souly-Bear! Mama missed you SO much!_"

Maka grinned wickedly at her partner. He glared daggers at her in response, wordlessly threatening her to not say a single _word_ about his childhood nickname.

"I'm glad to see you too Mom," he muttered, trying to pry her arms off of him, "but I have to introduce you to Maka!"

"OH!" the woman said, immediately backing off of her son. She latched onto Maka next. "Hello darling! It's so lovely to finally meet you!"

"It's lovely to meet you too, Mrs. Evans," Maka said breathlessly, while her partner smirked at her. His mother hugged _hard_.

"Hey! Sorry I'm late!" Wes's voice broke through the commotion in the terminal.

Maka was grateful when Mrs. Evans finally released her to attack-hug her eldest son.

As the meister caught her breath, Soul returned to her side, carrying his mother's overnight bag in one hand, and lacing his fingers into hers with his free hand. "So far so good," he whispered into her ear. Maka gave him a slightly relieved smile.

After Wes picked up his mother's extra-large suitcase from the baggage area, he whipped out his cellphone and called for a cab to pick them up at the airport front entrance. Mrs. Evans had latched herself onto Soul's arm, and was blabbing a mile a minute. She still hadn't stopped talking by the time they had stuffed her luggage into the trunk of the cab and were already well on their way to the Death City Grand Hotel.

Once Mrs. Evans had officialyl checked into the hotel, she led her two sons and Maka around the building until they finally found her room. Maka gaped as she caught her first glimpse into the fancy hotel room. The ceiling was high, and all of the decor looked as if it had been pulled straight out of a Victorian novel. There was a large sitting area inside, and two bedrooms were visible, one of each side of the living area.

"Um... Mrs. Evans, why do you need a room with two bedrooms?"

The older woman giggled, and gently patted Maka's hand. "Well I probably don't _need_ the extra room, but I wanted to get it just in case Wesley wanted to use it instead of squatting on your couch, dear."

"I'm not squatting on their _couch_, Mom," Wes replied smoothly, "They moved Soul's old bed into the living room for me to sleep on, so it's really not too bad. Besides, _squatting_ with them saved me some money."

His mother giggled again, "Oh Wesley, you certainly inherited your father's good financial sense, didn't you? Though you're not nearly as tight-fisted as your brother is. Soul, how much is the rent on your apartment darling?"

"Six hundred a month, with utilities," Soul responded effortlessly. Maka was surprised. She had no idea that it cost her mother three hundred dollars a month to keep her in that apartment with her boyfriend. She suddenly felt like a clueless child.

"Oh," Mrs. Evans continued on, "I can't even imagine living so frugally! I suppose the cost of living out here must be so much less though. I remember my very first apartment in New York: $1500 a month, and it was a studio!"

Maka's jaw dropped. It was official. Soul was from some crazy parallel universe where forty-something women dressed like classy teenagers and lived in tiny apartments that cost a small fortune, and expected to stay in the fanciest hotels they can find. True, her own parents made enough money as a top-ranked meister and Death Scythe to live comfortably, and to make sure that _she_ lived comfortably, but Maka had the sneaking suspicion that the limit on Mrs. Evans' credit card was somewhere in the million dollar range.

Soul's mother pulled Maka out of her thoughts by grabbing hold of her hands and insisting that she come into the larger bedroom and help her unpack. The meister reluctantly released her boyfriend's hand, and followed the older woman into the spacious room.

"Oh Soul, Wesley, would two be dears and go out and get me some ice? And could you also pick up some snacks from the grocery? And find us a lovely restaurant where we can all have dinner! I'm _starved_ from the plane ride!"

"But-" Soul began to protest, looking directly into his meister's eyes.

"No 'buts' Souly-Bear! Maka and I would like to have some girl time!"

The weapon shot his meister an apologetic look, before he was dragged out the door by his brother.

The older woman swung the over-sized suitcase onto the king-size bed and zipped it open. It was full to the brim with clothes of many different colors and fabrics.

"Wow..." Maka said in awe, "They're all so _pretty_..."

Mrs. Evans giggled as she pulled out the first dress: an elegant black cocktail dress with sequin-trimmed spaghetti straps. "I just _love_ fashion. Pretty much every trend you can think of, I have at least one thing in my closet that follows it- _including_ the more embarrassing ones. I was quite the up-and-coming fashionista when I was your age."

"Um, Mrs. Evans?"

"Please, call me Annabelle,"

Maka was surprised, but complied, "Um, Annabelle, if you don't mind my asking, how old are you?"

Soul's mother didn't even blink, "I'm forty-two. Hard to believe, right? I went to prep school with Soul's father, we got married right after graduation, and I had Wes right after my 19th birthday. I finished college while raising Wes, and then got pregnant with Soul shortly after that." She laughed happily, "I've never really been much of a career woman, since I spent so much of my time raising two boys! And, just between you and I, Soul was quite the little hellion sometimes! He was always so curious, getting into things he shouldn't have been!"

Maka snickered. That sounded like Soul alright. And it certainly explained the five-year age gap between Wes and Soul.

"So darling," Annabelle continued, as she hung up yet another gorgeous dress in the borrowed closet, "Why don't you tell me a little bit more about yourself?"

"Well," Maka replied, pulling a silk kimono out of the trunk next, "I've lived here in Death City my whole life. My mother is a meister too, she's one of the best meisters the Academy has ever seen. My father is Lord Death's current Death Scythe, his weapon form is also a scythe, like Soul."

The older woman nodded. "And your parents are divorced, correct?"

Maka squirmed uncomfortably. "Um, yeah, my dad cheated on my mom, and she left him when I was fourteen."

She didn't seem at all offended or condescending, instead the look on the woman's face was one of pity and sadness. "So does your mother still live in Death City, or did she move somewhere else?"

The younger woman handed over the next outfit. "No, she's been traveling around the world for several years now. I don't really know if she's settled down anywhere or not. She just sends me postcards with brief notes on them from time to time."

"Has Soul met her?"

Maka shook her head. "No ma'am. She took off right around the time he became my partner. Everything was happening so fast back then, that I never really got the chance to introduce them. She knew I'd gotten a partner, so I guess she felt like I would be taken care of, so she made the arrangements for our apartment, but she was already gone before I'd even begun moving my stuff out of Papa's house."

Soul's mother shook her head. "Your poor mother... I've been lucky enough to never have my heart broken, but most of my friends have lost a few loves in their lifetimes. Just hearing of another person's pain is enough to break my heart a little bit anyways, wouldn't you agree?"

The young girl nodded her head in agreement, instantly thinking of the narrowly avoided disaster between Liz and Kid.

"So my dear," Annabelle replied, finally hanging up the last dress, "do you and Soul have any ideas about when you're going to get married?"

If Maka had been drinking any kind of beverage at that moment, it would have come shooting out of her nose. She was grateful there were no ingestible liquids present.

"Um... we really don't have any clue. We haven't even decided where we're going to_ college_ yet..."

"Oh!" the older woman exclaimed, embarrassed, "I'm so sorry darling, I should know better! Young people these days don't even want to hear the word _marriage_ uttered until they're into their thirties! I'm sure you'd like to be a career woman before you two tie-the-knot, yes?"

"Well, that would be nice, yeah, but I'd at least like to be done with college first, then go from there."

"Of course, of course. I'm sorry for jumping the gun darling, it's just that I'm so thrilled to my little Soul with someone! I know my boy, and once he sets his sights on something, it's as good as his! I've _never_ been able to talk him out of _anything_!"

"Tell me about it! Somehow, he _always_ ends up schmoozing enough to get his way!"

Annabelle nodded wholeheartedly, "Indeed. He excels at reading people, and is cunning enough to use that to his advantage. Wes is very observant too, but he is so open and gregarious that his intentions are never a mystery. If Soul weren't such a pure-hearted boy, then I might worry about him taking advantage of people."

Maka shook her head confidently. "He'd never do that though. Even if he were _thinking_ about it, I'd kick his ass before he'd get the chance."

His mother burst out laughing. "It's good we have you here to keep him in check then."

Maka laughed with Annabelle. Her partner's mother was _wonderful_. She felt relieved that there was nothing to worry about after all. While they waited for the Evans boys to return to the hotel room, the two women unpacked the overnight bag which was filled with shoes.

Maka oohed and ahhed at all the different styles and colors.

* * *

~end chapter 16

Since Wes's name (Wesley) is of English origin, I wanted Soul's mother to have an English name as well. Annabelle means "loveable", which I think fits her vivacious and youthful personality. As for her physical appearance, since she wasn't born into the Evans family, I wanted her to be of a more vibrant mold in general. I wanted her to be golden blonde to create a contrast between the white/silver hair of her sons (and, consequently, her husband as well). The whole silver=cold, gold=warm theme. I also wanted Soul to get his flair for trendy fashion from her.

I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! Now I'm off to my friend's movie premiere! :D (Sadly, it's not a big red-carpet deal, but still, pretty sweet to know somebody who made a movie, right? ;3)

~Love, Ash


	17. Chapter 17

Unintended Medicine

by PuppyNoelle

Description: Maka goes on the Pill to help alleviate her troublesome menstrual symptoms, but things become skewed when Soul finds out about her new prescription. SoulxMaka, multi-chap, Lemony!

A/N: I've had a few (rather adamant) requests for longer chapters, and I wanted to address that: I do _not _plan on writing longer chapters. I cut off plot elements where I do for two main reasons. First is a creative reason: _pacing_. If I keep the chapter going on too long, then I reveal too many plot elements and the chapter loses its focus. Second is for practicality's sake: I juggle _several_ projects simultaneously, so there really is a limit to just how much I can feasibly write at a time. So I humbly ask that such requests cease. It's starting to bug me.

And in regards to my typos in the last chapter, I'm sorry I didn't have the time to go back through and fix them before I posted, but I was in a huge rush to get to my friend's movie premiere. I finished writing the chapter literally a few minutes before I had to leave. :/

Also, I started writing another SoulxMaka smutty one-shot. (Yay!) I'm having trouble finishing it though, but I'll post it when I'm done. The title is _Angelic_, so keep checking back for it! :3

Love, Ash~

* * *

Chapter 17

Maka and Annabelle were perched on the couch in the living area of the hotel room, happily chatting away, when Soul and Wes returned. As the two young men entered, Wes's arms were overflowing with grocery bags, while Soul had the ice bag slung over one shoulder as he shouted into his cell phone.

"Goddammit Black Star! How many times do I have to tell you _no! _We_ cannot _party tonight!" He paused for a brief moment. "No, I don't have to tell you _everything_ I do, you're not my fucking booking agent!"

Soul's mother stared at her youngest son in shock. Maka was so used to her partner's cursing that hearing him speak that way hadn't even phased her, and it certainly hadn't come as any kind of shock for Wes either. But his mother was an entirely different story. It was like a switch had been flipped in Annabelle Evans' head, and she immediately rounded on her son.

"SOUL EVANS YOU STOP WITH THAT FOUL LANGUAGE RIGHT NOW!"

Maka's jaw dropped, Wes immediately dove out of the line of fire, and Soul froze.

Black Star's voice faintly emanated from the telephone, but the dead silence of the room made his words clear enough to understand, "_Dude_... was that your _mother_?"

Soul watched his seething mother like a hawk, and answered the ninja in a painstakingly slow manner. "Yes. _That's_ why Maka and I can't hang out tonight. I have to go." Click.

The weapon stuffed the phone into his pocket, then stood up straight, perfectly still, waiting for his punishment to come. And come it did. Though, from where Maka sat, it looked almost comical. Annabelle stomped over to her son, face as red as her narrowed eyes, with her delicate heels digging into the carpet with each step. She stopped just inches from her son's face, but was forced to pull her head upward to compensate for the five-inch height difference. Despite the fact that he towered over his mother, Soul still looked terrified. Annabelle stared straight into Soul's eyes, undaunted, and held up her left palm.

"Give me the phone," she said dangerously.

"But-"

"_Give me the phone._" she repeated.

He obeyed.

"Now, what was your friend's name again? Something 'Star'?"

"Black Star." Soul croaked out.

The older woman flipped open the phone, scrolled through the contacts list, then held the phone up to her face. When Black Star answered, Annabelle put on her sweetest, and most charming voice imaginable.

"No, this is Soul's mother, Annabelle Evans. I wanted to apologize for my son's rudeness and to invite you and the rest of Soul's friends to join us all for dinner tonight. Dinner is on me, and if you would kindly tell your friends to meet us at Death City Grand Hotel in room 643 in an hour, I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you."

She flipped the receiver closed, then stuffed it back into Soul's pocket herself. She gracefully walked back to the couch where Maka was still seated, and shot one final withering look at her son, before gently taking Maka's hand into her own.

"So, where shall we have dinner, darling?"

And just like that, she was the amazing and loveable Annabelle again. While Wes finally began unpacking the groceries and putting them away in the hotel room kitchen, Soul still stood there in shock for another minute. Finally, he tiptoed over to put the ice away and help his brother.

Exactly one hour later, Kid and the Thompson sisters arrived, followed shortly by Black Star and Tsuabaki. They all came looking cleaned up, but not too formal. Even Black Star managed to make himself look presentable by throwing on what was probably the only polo shirt he owned. Maka figured that, after hearing the way Soul's mother had yelled through the phone, the wanna-be god was probably a little terrified of her also.

Soul dutifully introduced his mother to each of their five friends in turn. Maka had never seen him act so formal and polite in her life, and she could tell that he was extremely uncomfortable in doing so. After Annabelle began chatting with the rest of their group, Soul silently slunk away, coming up behind Maka and latching his arms around her waist. She placed her hands atop his and, with her thumbs, comfortingly rubbed back and forth on the tan skin. He was going to sulk when they got home. That much his meister was certain of.

They all ate at a fancy Italian restaurant downtown. Annabelle thoroughly enjoyed getting to know her son's friends, although she did seem a little miffed about Black Star, which was no surprise to Maka. She seemed to deem the hyperactive and blunt young man responsible for teaching Soul all of the vulgar language that the two naturally shot off together. The mother pursed her lips every time she heard a curse slip from her son's mouth, whether she was looking at him at the time or not. However she did not throw any more tantrums, nor did she ask him to stop.

Soul's mother was charmed by Liz and Patty, and their enthusiastic love for art and fashion. She was also impressed by Kid's well-mannered air and intellect, and found a great number of favorite recipes in common with Tsubaki. Overall, it was a wonderful first meeting with her youngest son's social circle.

When Maka and the Evans' returned to the hotel room, Annabelle immediately collapsed onto the coach and began gushing about their friends. That is, until the topic of Black Star arose.

"I really don't understand _what_ you see in that boy, Soul. He's so vulgar and crass. His girlfriend is absolutely lovely, but I can't see how anyone could put up with him well enough to live with him!"

"Mom..." Soul grumbled, but she ignored him.

"And that _mouth_! Now I know where you get it from! If you'd have stayed in New York, I would have made _certain_ that you never spoke in such an ungentlemanly way!"

"_Mom._"

"And to _think_! You and Maka will someday be raising _children_ in that kind of environment!"

"Mom! Shut _up!_"

Annabelle looked aghast at her son. Before Soul could bury himself into the massive hole that he was already digging, Maka intervened.

"Annabelle, I've known Black Star my whole life, and he's the closest thing to a sibling I have. I know he's a little rough around the edges, but his heart is in the right place. He's Soul's best friend, and he's part of our family here." The young meister gently took the older woman's hands into her own and gave her the sincerest look she could muster. "He's very important to us, so we would both be grateful if you could overlook his antics, for us."

The older woman lost the battle. Wes and Soul exchanged identical smirks, and Maka silently swore that she was going to get revenge on Black Star for this. Somehow.

"Well then, I suppose it's time for me to get to bed. I'm a little jet-lagged, so I'll do my best to get onto Nevada time." Mrs. Evans hopped up from the couch and kissed the cheeks of each of her children and Maka, before bidding them good night.

Once the trio was inside the safety of the elevator, both boys howled with laughter. Maka glared at them.

"_What?_"

Still laughing, Soul managed to say, "Maka, you are the fucking _coolest_ partner _ever_. You totally just schmoozed over my mom! Not only did you just get her to accept _Black Star_, but you got _me_ out of trouble at the same time!"

He and Wes high-fived. Maka blushed, sheepishly smiling.

"This calls for a celebration!" Wes announced.

"What kind of celebration?" Maka asked, her curiosity piqued.

"Just call your friends up and see if they all would like to stay over and your place tonight. This _definitely_ deserves a party. I'll meet you back at the apartment." the older man said, bolting out of the elevator before either of them could get a chance to respond.

As the older brother disappeared out of the front doors of the hotel lobby, Maka turned to her partner.

"Soul? What _exactly_ is Wes planning?"

The scythe-man grinned. "He's bringing _booze_."

"He's bringing _what?_" Maka shrieked at her partner.

"_Shit!_ Maka, calm down! He's 23, he's old enough to buy alcohol!"

"But _we're_ all underage!"

"Well, Tsubaki and Liz are 21... how else do you think Kid and Black Star get their booze?"

"I _don't care_ about Kid and Black Star, I do _not_ want that shit in _my _house!"

"Well, technically it's _our_ house, Maka. And Wes is our _house guest_, so it would be rude to deny him alcohol if he brings it in himself."

Soul won that argument. They both knew it. The last thing that Maka wanted to do was be rude to his family.

The meister stomped up and down on the concrete sidewalk seething, while her partner walked calmly behind her. Passerbys shot her frightened looks, and those that were close enough to her rampage immediately scuttled out of the way.

"Maka, you're gonna have to calm down, you know. We have to call everybody still."

"_You_ do it! I am _not_ condoning any of this!"

"Fine," the weapon replied, flipping open his phone and calling Black Star first, then Kid. Both friends readily agreed. Partying had been their original plan for the night anyways.

When they arrived home, Maka angrily rammed her key into the door and unlocked it. She threw the door open and stomped straight toward her bedroom to pout. Soul watched her hips as they jerked around during her shit-storm. He smirked to himself. Somehow she still managed to look hot, even when she was pissed.

Since their party tonight also included a sleepover, Soul decided that he had best set-up some makeshift beds. They would be housing eight people in their tiny apartment for the night, and sleeping arrangements might be a little awkward since six of those eight people were coupled up. They had three beds and two couches, but with Maka's current sour-puss attitude, she may very well keep herself locked in her room for the entire night. So, he made a decision.

"Maka," the scythe-man said as he rapped on her door.

No answer.

"_Maka_," he repeated.

"_What?_" she replied grouchily.

"I need your help figuring out sleeping arrangements for everybody." He _hated_ admitting he needed help with _anything_. And she _knew _that. It was a _totally_ uncool move, but a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do.

He heard the click of the door unlocking. Yep, it worked like a charm. The hinges squeaked as the door slowly opened into the bedroom in front of him.

"Okay," his girlfriend finally mumbled, still not happy, but not grouchy either.

He extended his hand out to her, and she took it. Together they pulled out blankets and extra pillows from the linen closet, and created a few ground rules that everyone would have to follow. Soul was relieved that Maka was willing to make the best of the situation instead of simply sulking about it. She wasn't quite as much of a stick in the mud as she used to be: no doubt thanks to _his_ influence.

* * *

~end chapter 17

This story just keeps taking longer and longer to get through because I keep getting idea after idea after idea. Damn, and here I thought I was going to cap it off at 20 chapters XD I'll still try to make that deadline, but we'll see, since I have a lot of ground to cover still :P Sorry for anybody who wants to skip ahead to the college stuff. Don't worry, we'll get there ;3

Oh yeah, and don't screw with Soul's mom. She's a New Yorker. I'm just saying. :P

~Love, Ash


	18. Chapter 18

Unintended Medicine

by PuppyNoelle

Description: Maka goes on the Pill to help alleviate her troublesome menstrual symptoms, but things become skewed when Soul finds out about her new prescription. SoulxMaka, multi-chap, Lemony!

A/N: Thank you guys so much for all the hits and reviews! I've never been this popular before in my whole life! XD I am seriously blessed with you all! Since I'm at over 37,000 hits now, I'll try and give you guys some sort of treat when it hits 40,000. I'll deliberate and get back to you :P

I've had yet another reviewer bring up the Liz/Patty age difference. I've already discussed this in earlier author's notes (can't remember which chapter though), but to sum that conversation up: There is actually nothing in canon that officially states that the sisters are twins. Actually, Ohkubo doesn't give any hints on their ages aside from stating that Liz is older. So, because of that ambiguity, I've taken creative liberties with ages.

And the same person actually brought up a good point about underage drinking: It is true that in most countries the legal drinking age is 18, but in the US (including the state of Nevada, where the fictional Death City is located) it is 21. Underage drinking is a big issue over here, and punishments can sometimes be pretty steep for it if you're caught. Sorry if that confused any of you non-US residents. Alcohol in general is just a big cultural/political/legal bomb over here, mostly because of the incessant drunk driving problems.

Love, Ash~

* * *

Chapter 18

Surprisingly, Maka kept her lips sealed when Wes returned to the apartment with bags full of various types of liquor. She turned her attention away completely and curled up on the couch to play Soul's videogame instead. It wasn't long before everyone else arrived, ready to party. Since Maka seemed determined to ignore the newly burgeoning party, Soul took up the duty of explaining the sleepover rules to everyone.

"Okay, before we get into the drinks, there's a few ground rules you guys are gonna have to follow."

"_What_? C'mon Soul! Don't be a such _loser_!" Black Star whined.

"Shut it Black Star, this was the only way I could get Maka to even agree to have this party in the first place!"

The ninja reluctantly grumbled in defeat.

"Okay," the scythe cleared his throat, "Number One: Anybody who throws up or makes any other kind of mess has to clean it up themselves. No excuses. If you don't, the punishment is a week's worth of Maka-Chops."

Everyone reeled at the thought. Soul could have sworn he heard his meister cackle from the couch.

"Number Two: Once you've had any alcohol to drink, you are _not _allowed to leave the apartment. We don't need anybody doing stupid shit in the middle of the halls or street. Most of us are still underage, and we don't wanna get thrown in jail."

Everyone agreed with the last sentiment.

"Number Three: We can't make too much noise. For the same reason as the last one. If the party draws too much attention, we might gets cops called on us."

More murmurs of agreement rumbled around the room.

"And, finally, Number Four: We all know that there're a lot of _couples_ here, and since this is a sleepover there obviously have to be some rules about that-"

Black Star blanched. He wasn't liking where this was going _at all_.

"-couples _are_ allowed to share beds-"

The ninja whooped in relief.

"-_but_ there is to be absolutely no behavior that you wouldn't want everyone else in the group to see."

The scythe looked pointedly at Black Star as the list rolled off his tongue, "The banned stuff includes: ass-grabbing, over-the-bra action, touching of the crotch, stripping, and most especially any types of sex, even when in a bedroom. And I'm dead serious about that. Maka said that if anybody has sex on her bed she's going to beat them to death with her gigantic hard-bound leather copy of the _Complete Works of Shakespeare_, and then tie their bodies to the bed, and burn the whole thing in the middle of Death City for everyone to see."

The room was gravely silent, even the crazy ninja kept his mouth shut.

Soul smirked. "Okay, so let's _party_!"

And the dark cloud immediately lifted. Everyone dove for the kitchen table where Wes was sorting through their refreshments.

"_Dude! _Look at all this! Wes, man, this is a fucking _feast!_" Black Star announced the moment his eyes took in the massive assortment.

The elder Evans brother grinned. "Well, I really wasn't sure what everyone's preferences were, so I got a variety. All the basics are covered: beer, wine, rum, vodka, tequila, soda and things for mixed drinks in case the ladies wanted to make cocktails."

"That was very thoughtful of you, Wes," Tsubaki said, pulling out all the necessities for strawberry daiquiris and setting to work. "Soul, would you mind getting your blender for me?"

"Sure thing," the male weapon replied, making his way over to the kitchen cabinet where it was tucked away.

After everyone had grabbed their drinks of choice, they converged on the couches to watch Maka kill things on the television screen. Soul hung around in the kitchen, slowly sipping his rum and coke. He put his glass down on the kitchen counter and filled up a small glass with strawberry daiquiri. He carried both glasses over to the couch and squeezed in between Maka, whose fingers were rapidly pressing on the buttons, and Patty, who was screeching enthusiastic cheers beside her.

Black Star began grilling his friend as she struggled against the boss. Eventually, Maka became fed up, and chucked the controller directly into his face.

"If you're such an expert, why don't _you_ figure out how to kill him?"

The ninja peeled the controller off his face and grinned. "Don't mind if I do!"

Maka slunk into the couch and Soul took that opportunity to offer her the drink.

"Here. It's strawberry daiquiri."

She pouted. "I'm _not_ drinking."

Her weapon sighed. "It's a mixed drink Maka. There's hardly any alcohol in it. It's basically just a slushie with a splash of rum."

His meister eyed him warily, but looked like she was teetering on the edge of giving in. He shoved it closer to her hands.

"Even a lightweight like you isn't gonna get drunk off _one_ of these things."

"Are you _sure_?"

"Yes, trust me."

Finally, she sighed and reluctantly took the glass. "Okay, fine. But I'm only having _one!_"

"That's cool," her scythe replied, slinking his now free arm around her waist and snuggling close. He eyed her carefully as she took a tiny sip from her glass. Apparently she enjoyed it because she took another, slightly larger sip right afterwards.

It wasn't long before everyone had become bored with the RPG, so they switched to Grand Theft Auto. _That_ really got the party started. Soon they were all taking turns goofing off, shooting people up, and pulling absurd crashes and stunts in the virtual city. By the time it was Maka's turn, she had already gotten up to refill her drink three times, and was becoming rather _giggly_. Actually, it appeared that Soul and Tsubaki were the only two somewhat sober people in the room.

Maka, Patty, and Liz were atop the coffee table, dancing around while Maka was lazily guiding the pixellized car into buildings and off interstate ramps. Black Star, Wes, and Kid were all whooping and cheering the girls on, clearly enjoying the display of shaking asses in front of them. Soul and Tsubaki shot one another exasperated glances. Finally, the male weapon pulled his girlfriend down from the table and enveloped her in his arms.

"_Soul..._" his meister complained, "Lemme go! I wanna _dance_!"

"Maka, there isn't even any music playing."

"So...! It's _fun!_" She drunkenly flung her arms out, accidentally tossing the controller at the three males who were seated on the other couch. None of them even noticed as the device hit the ground with a thud. The car on the screen halted, and digital police cars wailed from the speakers.

Kid had now gotten up and joined his weapons on the coffee table. He held Liz by the waist, and she slowly began grinding against him. Patty, as usual, was laughing. Black Star and Wes began a round of applause and cheers, while Tsubaki stared on, absolutely mortified.

Soul smacked his own palm to his forehead and heaved an exasperated sigh. So much for the ground rules. Then, to his astonishment, Maka had somehow turned around in his arms and was now slowly climbing up his body, staring at him intently while her eyes began to glaze over with lust.

"Oh Soul honey," she sang, in very un-Maka like tone.

"Shit-" was the only thing that managed to escape his lips before his meister had crashed their lips together. He could taste both the strawberries and the rum in her mouth as she forced his lips apart. This was _not_ cool. Maka was drunk, and apparently horny, and here they were, sitting on the middle of the couch, in front of all their friends, making out. Were any of their rules going to be left unbroken tonight? Well, maybe they'd be safe on one, since so far nobody had vomited yet.

"This is _so _uncool!" Soul managed to mumble when his meister came up for air. He finally managed to detach himself from Maka's hold and stood up, scooping her up into his arms, and slinging her petite form over his shoulder. He glanced over at Tsubaki apologetically.

"Sorry Tsubaki, I gotta do something about her. Keep an eye on these idiots until I get back."

The older weapon nodded, taking on her new role seriously. She managed to get Patty off the coffee table by shoving the game controller into her hands just before Soul disappeared into his bedroom with his giggling girlfriend in tow.

The scythe-man tossed his meister unceremoniously onto the bed, causing her to laugh even harder.

"Ooooh, Soul, do you wanna play it _rough_?"

"Maka, what the _fuck_? Are you even _listening_ _to yourself_? You're drunk, and you're starting to sound like _Blair!_"

_That_ comment stopped her cold. She looked as if she were on the verge of tears.

"But, Soul, _I love you_..."

The silver-haired man shook his head. He sat down beside his lover and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, gently stroking her golden strands.

"I know. I love you too, but cool guys don't take advantage of girls when they're drunk, especially not girls they really care about."

She hiccuped, then tears slowly trickled down her cheeks. She latched onto his chest and bawled into his shirt. "I'm so sorry Soul!" Maka sobbed. "I love you so much, and you're so wonderful to me," Sniffle, "And your mom and your brother have been so gracious and accepting of me, even though I'm not-" Hiccup, "-the ideal kind of girl that they'd prolly want to see you with."

Soul sighed, clutching her pitiful form to his chest. He planted a single kiss on the top of her head and soothingly rubbed her back.

"Maka, none of that shit matters to me, you know that. And I guess even Mom and Wes realize it too. And it's not like you're really _that_ far off from being an ideal match in my family's eyes. You're beautiful, you're at the top of our class, you're well-mannered and respectful, and you show an open interest in other people. Okay, so you're not "well-bred" or wealthy or musically-inclined, but that's just superficial shit. You've got enough balls that you'd prolly do better in my old life than I _ever _could."

She blinked away her tears, and locked eyes with her lover. "Really?"

He shot her a toothy grin. "Hell yeah."

"Thank you, Soul..." Maka mumbled sleepily. The liquid depressant was finally making her drowsy.

"Welcome, Maka," her weapon replied.

A few minutes later, Soul's meister was fast asleep. He gently pulled the covers out from under her sleeping body and covered her up. He smiled softly and brushed her bangs out of her face before turning out the light and returning to the living room.

Somehow Tsubaki had managed to pull Kid and Liz off the coffee table, but she hadn't yet managed to pull them off of each other. They were now making out and groping each other on the couch beside a passed out Patty. Wes was sprawled out, sound asleep on the other sofa; Tsubaki was trying in vain to get the attention of the two drunk lovers; and Black Star was nowhere to be found.

As he and Tsubaki finally yanked Liz off of her meister, Soul shuddered when he heard gagging noises coming from the bathroom. Apparently Black Star was praying to the porcelain god. It certainly wouldn't be the first, or last, time the blue-haired ninja would do that in his lifetime.

And apparently Liz had a split personality when she was drunk. One moment she was a total horndog, and the next she was a fire-breathing dragon. She shrieked and wailed, kicking at her captors as they dragged her to one of the armchairs opposite the couch. Tsubaki dashed toward the kitchen sink, filling a glass with water, and tossed it into Liz's face in an attempt to calm her down. It worked. She stopped kicking Soul, and dramatically dropped to the floor, bawling about her wet hair. Tsubaki gracefully pulled Liz to her feet and took her over to the linen closet to dry her off.

Soul took the opportunity to lift the unconscious Patty off the sofa and carry her into Maka's room. When he returned, Kid had passed out on the couch, and Black Star had somehow trudged over to the bed by the windowsill and buried himself underneath the covers. Tsubaki and Liz trudged past the male weapon and into Maka's room where Liz was soon deposited. The black-haired weapon gently closed the bedroom door behind her and heaved a sigh of relief. She gently smiled at Soul.

"I'm sorry things ended up getting so out of hand, Soul. I'm sure no one intended for things to get this crazy."

The young man leaned back against the wall and shrugged. "Nah, it's not a big deal. Shit happens. I'm just glad we got everything under control, finally."

A loud snore erupted from the bed in the corner. Tsubaki giggled. "I'll clean up Black Star's mess in the bathroom before I go to sleep."

"Thanks Tsubaki. The last thing we need is Maka waking up in the morning and stumbling into the bathroom to find puke everywhere."

The older weapon laughed airily. "Yes, that really wouldn't be pleasant, would it?"

"Mmmhmm," he agreed, making his way over to the gaming console to turn it off. He picked up all of the glass bottles and cups from their various locations in the living room and dumped any remaining contents into the kitchen sink. He tossed the beer bottles into the trash and stacked the glasses on the counter to be washed the next day. Tsubaki emerged from the bathroom just as he was crossing the hall toward his bedroom.

"Hey Soul?"

"Yeah?"

She quickly glanced over at Wes, asleep on the couch, then turned her attention back to her friend. "Your family, they really are lovely and fascinating people. How come you never mention them?"

He frowned. "It's... complicated Tsubaki. That was a whole other life, and I don't like to dwell on the past."

The shadow weapon nodded, but continued, "I understand, Black Star's the same way, but shouldn't you be a bit more grateful that you still _have _a family?"

Soul whirled around in shock. "I- never thought about it that way."

His companion smiled at him kindly. "Black Star and I... all we have left is each other. I know that Maka's family isn't perfect, and I'm sure yours isn't either, but you both have blood-kin who are there to support and look after you. To have that... is really a blessing. Just try and remember that, okay?"

He gave Tsubaki a rare, genuine smile, before turning back towards his room.

"Thanks Tsubaki. 'Night."

"Good night Soul," she softly called after him.

He gently closed the door behind him and joined his girlfriend beneath the covers, cradling her sleeping form close.

* * *

~end chapter 18

I love Tsubaki. Absolutely, genuinely, one million times over, love Tsubaki.

And sorry for anybody who was hoping for any smutty goodness back there. Wasn't in the plan. It was a sleepover, not an orgy :P

And this _is_ going to be longer than 20 chapters. I really have too much to cover still. But I _will _try to wrap it up so that I can get started on the second story in the series.

~Love, Ash


	19. Chapter 19

Unintended Medicine

by PuppyNoelle

Description: Maka goes on the Pill to help alleviate her troublesome menstrual symptoms, but things become skewed when Soul finds out about her new prescription. SoulxMaka, multi-chap, Lemony!

A/N: I had some great reviewers again! ZombeiKid said that Liz and Tsubaki are indeed older than the rest of the main group. Thanks for that! I'll have to go back over those chapters!

And you guys pushed the story past 40,000 hits before I even had time to start on your little present! :P I guess I'll at least tell you what it's going to be: I have an idea for a SoulxMaka fanart. When it's done, I'll let you guys know in Chapter 20's author notes! Thanks you guys for making this story so successful!

On another happy note: I am now officially a college graduate! Hip hip, hooray!

Love, Ash~

* * *

Chapter 18

Maka awoke the next morning with the worst headache of her life. She hadn't even opened her eyes yet, but she could feel the intense pounding in her head. She finally peeked her eyes open. The curtains were drawn, but the tiny bit of sunlight that still managed to sneak through stung her eyeballs. She stole a quick glance at Soul, who was sprawled out on his stomach beside her, sound asleep. She closed her eyes again, and slowly shuffled closer to him until their arms were looped together. She didn't want to wake him by moving too close, but she still desperately needed the comfort that only he could provide.

Then her memories from the previous night came flooding back to her. She could feel herself blush as she mentally recalled some of the things she'd said, done, and _almost_ done. She was embarrassed by how forward and forthcoming she'd been with her partner. Not only did she try to _have sex with him_ in front of their friends, but she had spilled her guts and laid all her insecurities bare for him. But she was glad that things ended up the way they had.

True, her boyfriend had indeed sexually rejected her, which _should_ have made anyone too upset to look their partner in the eye again, but she was actually happy about it. As his words from the previous night returned to her memory, she really began to feel how blessed she was to have him. Soul truly loves and respects her. He refused to let her do something stupid last night that they both knew she would regret later, and he did his best to soothe her insecurities. And right then, as she gently ran her index finger up and down her scythe's arm, she decided that she wasn't going to let _him_ do something he was going to regret either.

Despite her headache, she forced her eyes open, and leaned closer to the sleeping platinum-haired man beside her. She carefully climbed flat onto his back and delicately kissed the back of his neck.

"Soul," she quietly murmured into his ear.

"Wha..." came her weapon's sleep-ridden reply.

"Soul, wake up."

He mumbled once more, and attempted to turn over. When he realized that the pressure on his back was his meister, he finally formed coherent words, "Maka, why are you on my back?"

She squeezed his torso in a tight hug.

"Because I felt like it. But Soul, I figured something out."

"What?" he asked, plopping his tired head back onto the pillow.

"I wanna go to NYU, for college."

"Why?" It wasn't sarcastic or disapproving like she anticipated. It was just a question.

Maka squeezed him tighter. "Because I want you to be closer to your family, and because _I_ want to get closer to your family. I don't care how messed up they are, or why you've avoided them for so many years. If we're really going to be together for the rest of our lives, then we have to learn how to accept each others' families as our own."

The room was quiet for a few moments before Soul spoke again. "Okay. We'll fill out all the paperwork for both of us, and send it in today."

His meister nuzzled into the crook of his neck, and gently planted a kiss there. "Thank you."

Soul reached his hand up, finally found Maka's and gently gave it a squeeze. "So, Maka, can you stop squishing me now?"

She flushed. "Oops, sorry," and scooted back to her original spot on the bed. Soul then rolled over onto his back and stretched in place. Once he was finished, he rolled onto his side and cuddled up against his meister's side, draping an arm over her belly.

"So," he said, gently kissing her shoulder, "How are you feeling? You drank a lot of daiquiris last night. You nauseous at all?"

The young woman shook her head. "No, not nauseous. Mostly just really lethargic, and I have an awful headache."

He chuckled. "Then you've got a strong stomach, like me. The first time I drank I over did it, too. Didn't have the puking problem like Black Star does."

His meister groaned. "Oh crap. Did Black Star throw up last night?"

Soul smirked. "Black Star _always_ throws up."

Maka blanched, but her boyfriend quickly cut in before she could get too upset, "It's okay, Tsubaki cleaned it up before she went to sleep last night."

The meister sighed. "Of course she did. Does Black Star even have any idea _how_ to clean up after himself?"

Her partner laughed. "Probably not."

"So," the blonde woman continued, "What all happened after I fell asleep?"

"Are you sure you wanna know?" her weapon replied, "You're not gonna like it."

She glared at him. "Okay, now that you said that, you _have_ to tell me."

He heaved a sigh. "Alright, but _you_ asked." He then recalled the events of the previous night, while his partner glared at the ceiling more intensely as each word rolled off his tongue. If that ceiling could move, it would've been long gone by now.

"Well, at least you guys got those two separated. I just can't believe _Kid_ would do that! I mean, I pretty much _expect_ that kind of stuff out of Liz, but _Kid_? What is _wrong _with him lately? He's acting so..."

"Out of character?" her weapon supplied, as the meister sat up.

"_Yes_! First, he's all insecure about being the last _virgin_ male in the group, then he and Liz hook up and create all that drama, and now he wants to have sex with his girlfriend in front of all of us?"

Soul chuckled. "You're one to talk, Maka. If I recall correctly, _you_ wanted to have sex with me in front of all our friends."

An instant later, a dvd case that had previously sat on his nightstand was smashed into his skull.

"Shut up Soul. We're not talking about _me_. We're talking about _Kid_."

He tenderly rubbed his head and replied, "Who just so happens to be sleeping in the other room."

"Then just don't talk loudly," she muttered in response. "I just don't know why he's acting this way."

Soul propped himself up on an elbow to meet her eyes. "Maka, I know that it may seem like this is all kinda out of the blue, but it's really not. I mean, he's been kinda bad about the drinking for a while now. Even though I have tried to get him and Black Star to slow it down some, neither of them will do it. And this thing with Liz, and him acting out with her, it all just screams teenage rebellion."

"But _why_? Aside from when he's having an OCD fit, he's always been so _responsible_. And now..."

"Simple. It's the responsible types you have to watch out for the most. Once the good ones finally get a taste of being bad, they can't get enough."

"But _you're_ not hooked on being bad like that."

He shot her a toothy grin. "Have we met? Maka, I've been in a permanent state of rebellion for as long as I can remember. I'm _not_ a good one, never have been, and never tried to be." His meister rolled her eyes. His grin widened before he turned more serious. "Look, being bad just doesn't give me the same rush that it would for someone like Kid, or even someone like you."

'What's _that _supposed to mean?" she pouted.

He sat up beside her and pecked her on the lips. "You already know what it means. It means you're a goody-two-shoes."

"But I'm not getting lured into being 'bad'."

"Aren't you though?"

"What are you talking about, Soul?"

"You're being 'bad' too, Maka. You just had your first alcoholic drinks last night, and you've been having sex with me for a couple weeks now, too. You're not as innocent as you used to be." She scowled at him, but didn't deny any of it. "You're just handling it all better than him. You're accepting those changes as a part of who you are, so you're not losing yourself. We'll all be able to keep him in check whenever we can, like Tsubaki and I did last night."

"But, shouldn't we be a little bit more worried?"

Soul shrugged. "I think he'll be okay. He just needs to get it out of his system. Besides, with the drinking, he always stops when Black Star stops. And he _always_ listens to Liz. She handles him better than anybody else _ever_ could, so if he crosses any serious lines, she'll put a stop to it."

"I guess you're right," she said, bringing her knees up and resting her chin atop them, "Anyways, I am _never_ drinking that much ever again!"

Her partner laughed. "I was wondering how long it would take you to say that." He playfully ruffled her loose hair. "It's all good. I don't want you to be running around drunk on me again either. As long as you pace yourself like I do, you'll be fine."

She sheepishly smiled at him. "Those strawberry things were pretty good though."

He grinned, "They're called daiquiris Maka. And yeah. They're not really a cool guy drink, but they are pretty good. So, what are we gonna do for breakfast? Are gonna cook for _everybody_?"

Maka gaped at her partner as if he had just lost his mind. "_Of course not!_ Once we get everybody awake we'll all go to IHOP or something. I'm nobody's _mother_. Besides, my head still hurts, and I don't wanna do anything until it goes away."

"Alright then," Soul replied, climbing out of the bed and extending a hand out to his lover. "C'mon, let's get you some water and aspirin then."

"Do I _have _to?" She she replied, reluctantly taking his hand and allowing him to pull her out from under the covers.

Soul grinned as he took his meister's hand and led her out of the bedroom. When they arrived in the kitchen, Tsubaki and Wes were already up. Tsubaki was tending to the coffee maker on the counter top while Wes sat at the table, slowly sipping some tea.

"Hey little brother, Maka. Good morning."

"Morning Wes," they both chimed simultaneously. The elder Evans brother smiled in amusement at their unintentional synchronization.

"Oh! Good morning you two!" Tsubaki said, whirling around and giving them each a warm smile. "Do either of you want some coffee?"

"Yes, please," Maka replied, taking up her usual seat at the kitchen table.

"I don't drink coffee," Soul reminded his fellow weapon as he opened up a cabinet and fiddled around inside. "Hey, where's the aspirin? I could've sworn we still had some..."

_Rattle_. Soul turned to see his brother twirling around the bottle labelled 'Aspirin'. "Here you go."

The younger brother closed the cabinet and shrugged his brother off. "It's not for me, give it to Maka," he said as he opened the refrigerator and pulled out a carton of milk. He pulled out a glass and filled it up, placing it in front of Maka so that she could take her aspirin with it.

"Thanks," she said, gulping down two pills with a large gulp of the white liquid. When her weapon sat down in the chair beside her, with milk carton still in hand, she said, "Soul, don't drink right out of the carton. We have guests."

He merely shrugged. "We have two more cartons in there. If they want any milk, they can just open a new one."

"Soul, that's not what I'm talking about. It's _rude_-"

He took a large swig anyways. Before Maka could further criticize her partner's table manners, or lack-there-of, a head of messy black and white hair popped up from the other side of the couch.

"I guess that means Kid's up," Soul narrated, "Morning dude. Tsubaki's making coffee. By the way, nice bed-head."

"WHAT?" the young Shinigami shrieked. "Oh no no no no... My hair _can't _be messed up! That means it's _asymmetrical_!" He immediately took off for the bathroom.

Soul and Maka both snickered, while Wes watched after him in awe.

"How on earth do you guys deal with him on a regular basis? His obsession with symmetry is just so asinine," Wes said.

All three of his companions shrugged, and Tsubaki replied, "Well, we've all been such close friends for so many years now, that I suppose we're just used to it."

"Yeah," Soul added, "You just can't take it too seriously. You gotta find the humor in it, or else it'll drive you as crazy as he is."

And just as those words slipped from the scythe's mouth, Kid returned from the bathroom, with his hair properly in place. "I am not crazy, Soul, I am merely predisposed with a keen eye and a strong desire for balance."

As Kid took the last remaining chair at the kitchen table, his friend snorted. "Whatever man."

"Hey Tsubaki, is the coffee almost done?" Maka chirped, hoping to interrupt the conversation before either party got past the 'slightly annoyed' stage.

"Yup! Almost," the older girl replied, finally pulling out the pot and pouring the contents into three mugs.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the apartment door. All five sets of eyes grew wide as saucers, and in a flash two platinum-colored heads and one dual-colored head were whirling around the kitchen, removing all evidence that there was alcohol in the apartment. Maka slowly approached the door, and just as her hand reached the knob, the three young men had resumed their seats, looking completely serene, as if nothing had just happened.

The female meister opened the door to reveal Annabelle Evans, dressed in a neon pink halter top, solid white capris, and matching hot pink stiletto sandals. She wore her golden hair in a long French braid, that was topped off with a white ribbon headband, and tied off at the tip with yet another white ribbon. She immediately threw open her arms, white leather handbag flying through the air, as she leaned in to hug Maka.

"Oh good morning darling! I hope you kids don't mind me coming over without calling first, but I just slept so well last night, and I was so excited to spend more time you!"

Maka tiredly hugged her boyfriend's enthusiastic mother back. When the older woman finally pulled away and officially entered the apartment, she noticed that they had company.

"Oh, Kid, Tsubaki, I didn't know you two were here so early this morning," she glanced over to the bed pushed up against the living room window, "Is that Black Star I see sleeping over there?"

"Yeah, Mom," Soul replied, "We had a video game party last night, and everybody slept over. Liz and Patty are still asleep in Maka's room."

"Oh, I'm sorry kids. If I'd known you were all up late, I wouldn't have come over unannounced like this." She walked over to where her two sons were seated, and swiftly pecked them each on the cheek. Although neither male was pleased with the embarrassing greeting, they both dutifully tolerated it. Maka's lips curled into a wicked grin, and her partner shot her a warning look. He knew she wouldn't tease him around their friends though. She much preferred their subtle game of silent grins and glares. Most of the time, he preferred it that way, too.

"So," Annabelle chimed in, "What do you all have planned for your Spring Break?"

"We're pretty much going to take it easy, Annabelle. " Maka replied, taking her coffee cup from Tsubaki, and quietly thanking her best friend. "Lord Death said he wants all the graduating meisters and weapons to relax over Break. He wants us to get on solid footing before finals, and to take the week to decide what we want to do after graduation."

"Would you care for a cup of coffee, Mrs. Evans?" Tsubaki quietly asked, taking advantage of a brief pause in the conversation.

"Oh, yes, why thank you Tsubaki," the older woman replied kindly, before returning her attention to the conversation at hand. "So what are all of you planning to do after you graduate?"

Annabelle looked pointedly at her youngest son, who averted meeting her eyes in favor of his girlfriend's. Apparently he wanted _Maka_ to be the one to tell her. The meister glared at him in response, sending him the unspoken message that _this_ was his job.

"Well," Kid said, catching the looks exchanged by his two friends, and conveniently giving them a little time to breathe before answering, "I will be attending NYU to major in Ancient History. Liz and Patty will be going to New York with me to attend the Art Institute there. They are going to study Fashion Design."

"Oh, how lovely!" Mrs. Evans remarked, eyes sparkling. "Now Kid, you be sure to tell the girls that I will _gladly _take them with me to fashion shows and parties! They are darling young ladies, and I'm sure I can dig up some industry contacts that would be willing to help them get started."

Kid was both surprised and grateful. "Thank you very much, Mrs. Evans. I'm sure the girls will be delighted to hear that."

Maka observed the elder Evans brother staring at his mother with an appreciative smile. She had a hunch that Annabelle had a pet cause: helping young girls become successful career women in New York City. Perhaps it was because she never really got the chance to become much of a career woman herself.

"Well, Tsubaki dear, what do you and Black Star plan to do after you graduate?"

Tsubaki gently handed the older woman a coffee cup, and replied, "Well, I would like to attend culinary school at some point, but I'm really not sure where I want to go. And Black Star really isn't sure what he wants to do. He says he just wants to get out there and find a job to support us, and he'll decide if he wants to go to college later." She shot quick glances at all of her friends. "But more than anything, I think that we both would like to stay close to our friends. Black Star and I don't really have any family anymore, so our friends have sort of become our family."

Maka approached her best friend and gently clasped their free hands together, smiling. The older girl smiled in return.

Soul took another quick swig from the milk carton, then leaned back in his chair. "Well, then I guess this means we're _all _going to New York. Maka and I finally decided that we're going to go to NYU with Kid."

Wes sat back in his chair with a satisfied smile, and Annabelle absolutely _glowed_ with happiness.

"Oh Souly-Bear!" she wailed with glee, bouncing over and squeezing her youngest son, "I am so _happy_ that you'll be coming back _home_ again! Oh, wait until I tell your father the news! He'll be _thrilled_!"

"No he won't, Mom," Soul muttered, "If I get _any_ reaction at all from him, he'll just find _something_ to criticize me about."

His mother released him and puffed herself up, placing her hands on her hips. "Soul Evans, don't you talk about your father like that!" she scolded, "He loves you very much, he's just not as good at showing it as I am. He _will_ be pleased to hear that you'll be coming home."

"Hold on a second, Mom, I won't be coming _home_ home. I _won't _be moving back in with you guys!"

His mother pouted, giving him her best impression of a sad puppy, "But why not darling? More kids nowadays are staying home with their parents during college to save money."

The platinum-haired weapon rolled his eyes. "Okay, _One_: you guys don't have any need to _save money_ when it comes to my education_, _and _Two:_ I've been living on my own, with Maka, for five years now, and I _never_ want that to change."

"But honey! What if... what if Maka came to live with us, too?"

Soul smacked his own head into the kitchen table, Maka was completely dumbfounded, and Kid and Tsubaki both looked _completely_ uncomfortable.

Finally, Wes spoke up, "Mom, I think it would be best if you just let them get their own apartment in the city. Soul's right, they've both been living on their own long enough that it wouldn't be right to try and force them to live with you and Dad. Besides, I _seriously_ doubt that Dad would even be willing to _consider_ living under the same roof with an _unwed_ young couple, even if it _is _his own son."

Annabelle scrunched up her pretty face and pursed her pink-stained lips. Finally, she heaved a sigh. "Oh _fine_," she said, turning her attention back to her younger son, "But we're going to pay for your apartment, Soul, _and_ for your tuition, and you are _not_ allowed to complain about any of it being too expensive! Also, I will _not_ have you two living in some _dump_ in a bad neighborhood! When I get back home, I'll start looking for an apartment for you, somewhere near the University, and you will have to live wherever I choose. No arguments!"

Soul folded his arms across his chest and grunted, "Fine."

"_Dude_, can I get in on the rent-free apartment deal, too?" Apparently Black Star was amongst the conscious once more.

* * *

~end Chapter 19

Holy _crap_ this chapter ended up _much_ longer than I intended! I mean, I covered exactly what I wanted to plot-wise, but _damn_. Oh well, this story has pretty much reached its climax right here, so I think it's safe to say that this chapter deserves a little more lovin', right? We're finally starting to hit the end... of Part I in the series! ;)

I did have more that I wanted to include in Part I, but I think I'm going to rewrite my ending, and find a way to include those unfinished/unstarted plot elements in the sequel instead. My mind's just already running ahead into Part II. Either the next chapter, 20, or 21 will be the last chapter in this particular story.

Love, Ash~


	20. Chapter 20

Unintended Medicine

by PuppyNoelle

Description: Maka goes on the Pill to help alleviate her troublesome menstrual symptoms, but things become skewed when Soul finds out about her new prescription. SoulxMaka, multi-chap, Lemony!

A/N: Hey guys! I took a little break from writing to get started on my fanart present for you guys. It's still in the beginning stages, but I posted the basic pencil sketch in the Scrapbook section of my DeviantART page (link is in my author profile) if any of you guys want to take a quick peek at what I'm working on for you guys! :3 While you guys are there, you can check out my other SoMa drawing, and also check out some preview stuff from my novel (I have a couple character drawings, and a link to the audio book version of the first chapter). Is it wrong to self-promote here? XD

Oh, and I've officially decided that there will be a Chapter 21 for this story. _Then_ I'll get to the sequel, which, by the way, will be titled, _Falling Into Places_. It will still have plenty of humor, but will also include more drama, too. And, _of course_, plenty of warm fuzzies and hot smutties! ;) This story's theme is _healing_ and the next theme is _scattering_. I'm excited! How about you?

And for those who asked about prom: I suppose that yes, they will be going to prom, but I'm not going to write a chapter about it. It just doesn't have a place in my game plan for the story. Sorry. If I ever do happen to get the inspiration for a prom-scene, then I may post it separately as a bonus-chapter one-shot, but as of right now, I don't have any ideas for it. It's been 5 years since my own high school prom, so I hardly remember enough to write about one. It just feels like a whole other lifetime ago. (Damn, this makes me feel old XD)

Love, Ash~

* * *

Chapter 20

"Black Star!" Tsubaki scolded, "You can't just invite yourself to live with your friends that way!"

"Why the hell not, Tsubaki?" the blue-haired assassin asked, "We all do that kind of shit to each other all the time anyways. What makes this any different?"

"Black Star," Kid was rounding on him too, "It's not _appropriate_ to-"

But the ninja wasn't done yet. "Look you guys, it's not like we'd totally be scamming on Soul, I mean we'd buy food and help pay utilities and shit, too. Just think about it Tsubaki, if we didn't have to pay rent, and if I work some lame-ass part-time job on top of our missions for Lord Death, then we'd be able to save up more money for your cooking classes. So long as Soul and his folks don't mind, I say we can all be roomies."

"Sounds like a plan to me!" Soul replied, holding his hand up for a high-five, which his best friend immediately followed through with. "As long as you don't break shit or make too much noise, I'm game. I'd love to kick your ass in videogames on a more regular basis!"

"Hah! You wish, Soul! By now, I'm pretty much a god, you couldn't beat me if you _really_ tried!"

"Get over yourself, Black Star," Soul teased, before turning his attention to Kid, "Yo, Kid, where are you and the girls staying? Do you have anyplace in mind yet?"

"Actually," Kid responded, "We already have a suitable apartment picked out. Father's realtor found it for us, and, of course, he made sure everything inside was perfectly symmetrical. It's in a brand new building in the Soho neighborhood. It's within walking distance from NYU."

"Well, knowing you," the other male meister said, "that place is probably totally tricked out. Soul, dude, can we find a place in Kid's building so we don't have to go too far to play with all his gadgets and shit?"

While the three younger men conversed about what they all wanted out of their apartments, Wes looked over at his mother. "Mom... are you actually going to let them do this?"

Maka and Tsubaki both stared expectantly at the older woman, but weren't quite sure what her reaction would be. Finally, the mother burst into laughter. The boys' conversation halted as they stared at her, confused.

"Um... Mom, are you okay?" Soul finally asked, breaking the awkward tension in the air.

"Oh," Annabelle replied, still giggling, but gradually calming down again, "Yes darling, I'm fine. It's just all so _funny_. I suppose I don't really have much of a choice anymore, do I? You kids are all growing up and making all these decisions for yourselves. What would happen if I refused to let you kids room together? Honestly, I get the feeling that you would all end up doing so anyways. At least this way, we can spare ourselves all the unnecessary drama, and I know that you'll all be taken care of."

"So... does that mean?" Soul asked carefully.

"Yes darling, that means that I will allow your friends to live at the apartment with you. Provided, of course, they do pay their share of the utilities, groceries, etc. I may have to cleverly find a way to convince your father, but that's certainly doable. And it will be lovely to have my Soul near me again." She sighed dreamily, "And perhaps having all you young people around will liven things up a bit. Your poor father _is_ beginning to get a bit cynical. Since Wes graduated from Julliard, he's been traveling so much, he's hardly ever home! I know your father misses the company."

"Wait... So, are you _actually_ going to let Black Star and Tsubaki live with us?" Maka asked, completely astonished by Annabelle's generosity.

"Yes," the older woman replied, smiling. "You said it yourself that Black Star was like a brother to you, and he _is_ Soul's best friend. And since Tsubaki is your best friend, Maka, and she and Black Star are sort of a package deal, then yes, I'm allowing it. I want you and Soul to be happy in New York, and if keeping your friends close is going to make you kids happy, then I am willing to do what I can."

Black Star whooped and hollered, Tsubaki gratefully bowed and thanked the older woman, Maka hugged her, and Soul's lips pealed into a true smile that actually reached his eyes.

"Thanks Mom," the scythe said, "I really appreciate you doing this."

Annabelle's eyes sparkled at the rare glimpse of emotion from her youngest son. She left Maka to walk over to his chair, and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, kissing him once on the cheek. And though he was embarrassed by the emotional display, one of Soul's hands abandoned the milk carton to briefly pat his mother's hand.

Just then, the Thompson sisters emerged from Maka's room. Patty was cheerfully stretching her arms out, while Liz yawned tiredly, slowly massaging her temples. She must've had a hangover headache, too. Patty bounced into one of the two empty chairs, and immediately took the cup of coffee that Tsubaki handed her.

"What's with all the noise out here?" the elder sister asked groggily, as she glanced around at her smiling group of friends.

"We're all coming to New York City with you guys in the fall!" Maka chirped, taking Liz's hand and leading her over to the only unclaimed chair at the table. The older blonde promptly plopped into the chair, and grew a bit more perky.

"Oh, guys that's so great! We'll all be able to stay together now!" she said, taking the last coffee cup from Tsubaki. The tall blonde took a quick sip before saying, "I don't know what I'd do without my favorite girlfriends around! This is pretty much perfect." Then, as if she were psychic, Liz inquired, "You guys should totally get a place in our building! That way we can have tons of girls-only slumber parties!"

"Yeah! We have the best girls-only nights! We can model all the pretty clothes that sis and I will be making!" Patty enthusiastically added.

Kid smiled. "Actually, they were already talking about getting a place in our building." He turned his attention to Soul's mother, who had now released her son and was nursing her coffee cup once again. "Mrs. Evans, I'd be happy to give you the contact information for my father's realtor so that you can get more information about our building."

"Oh that would be lovely Kid, thank you. I'll be sure to pass the information along to our realtor as well."

"So," Liz butted in, "Are all four of you gonna live in the same apartment, then?"

"Yeah, so what?" Soul replied, his typical bored expression now officially claimed his face once again.

"So the gay lovers are finally coming out of the closet, eh?" she replied, grinning at him and Black Star.

"Liz," Black Star chimed in, "Are you _still_ gonna call us that, even after we're all old and wrinkly and have fat grandkids?"

"Yep."

"Even _in front of_ our fat grandkids?"

"You betcha."

Annabelle looked between her son and his best friend in utter confusion. "What's going on?"

"Black Star and Soul had this weird 'bromance' moment a few years ago," Maka explained, rolling her eyes, "Liz just loves teasing them about it."

"So... wait," the elder woman said, trying to wrap her head around this little tidbit of information, "Soul, are you and Black Star _bisexual_?"

Wes snorted into his coffee, Liz and Patty pealed into laughter, Kid quietly chuckled, Maka and Tsubaki both shot death glares in Liz's direction, and Black Star nearly choked on his own coffee.

Soul promptly banged his head into the table and muttered, "No Mom, it's just an inside joke."

"Oh, okay," his mother replied, somewhat relieved, "so then what did you two _do_ to make your friends tease you about it?"

"A very long, drawn out, and overly dramatic almost hug." said Liz between giggles.

"Almost hug?" the older woman asked.

"Basically, yes," Maka replied, still glaring daggers at Liz, "Those two idiots probably would've made even bigger fools of themselves if they'd completed their little embarrassing display, but thankfully Kid shot them in time."

"Ah _memories_..." Liz said giggling.

"Wait, Kid _shot_ them?" Annabelle said, wide-eyed.

"Mom, it was a _duel_. When I left, I explained to you what I was going to be doing here."

"I know, but," his mother said, starting to hyperventilate a bit, "your _friends_ attack you?"

"Well _technically_ at the time we weren't friends yet," Soul replied casually, "but _yes_. We have to practice somehow. Just don't think about it Mom. I don't want you running worst case scenarios through your head. We're all a bunch of the top weapons and meisters in our class. We haven't had any _real _close calls for a few years now."

Suddenly his mother's crimson eyes flashed fiercely. "So you've had _close calls_ before?"

A quiet "Oh _shit_," escaped from her youngest son's lips.

As if on cue, Kid, Liz, Patty, Black Star, and Tsuabaki, all rose from where they either sat or stood, and slowly crept out of the kitchen, then dashed from the apartment. Maka silently walked over and occupied the chair beside her partner, gripping his hand tightly beneath the table. The elder brother diverted his attention from everyone else at the table, conspicuously trying to look inconspicuous. Unluckily for him, his mother noticed.

"And you _knew!_" she seethed, pointing at her eldest son, who merely held his hands up in defense.

"Hey! He made me swear not to tell! I only found out earlier this week, anyways! Soul likes keeping things quiet, you know that Mom."

"Shut up Wesley!" she shrilled, then returned her attention to her other son. "_Soul_. _Tell me right now_."

Her tone was dangerous, so Soul reluctantly decided against playing coy. "Okay, but Mom, if you flip out, have nightmares, or try to go all over-protective on me, then Maka and I will take it back, and we _won't_ go to NYU."

Annabelle stiffly took the last remaining chair at the table, and folded her hands into her lap before giving a jerky nod of her beautiful head.

"Maka, do the honors," Soul quietly commanded his meister, nodding his chin down towards his t-shirt.

She solemnly stood from her chair and maneuvered behind his. As her weapon lifted his arms into the air, her own heart thrummed. Maka never imagined that she would have this new emotion attached to that old scar: _possessiveness_. Now when she thought of it, she thought of how she would trace her fingers along it while they were making love, and how the sensitivity of her touch on that spot only made his desire for her increase. It was _her_ scar. He obtained it saving her life, and she was the only one allowed to touch it. In a twisted way, she almost felt betrayed by him showing it to anyone else, even his own family.

The young woman swallowed her feelings as she reached for the hem of her partner's shirt. She swiftly and expertly pulled the cloth over his head. She clutched the green cotton between her fingers as she reclaimed her seat, trying to look at anything but the scar. She didn't even pay attention as Soul recounted their bitter tale again. She simply stared at the table.

Before the young meister knew it, her shoulder was thwacked by Annabelle's long golden braid, and she felt an arm on her side, crushing her other side into her partner's. She felt warm droplets begin to soak her loose hair. Somewhere in the huddle, Soul's hand slithered atop Maka's and he gently linked their fingers together. Aside from that small gesture, Soul remained completely stoic while his mother sobbed into both blonde and platinum hair. If it weren't for the avant-garde fashion sense and piercing crimson eyes that they both shared, Maka never would have imagined that these two were related. She suspected that her partner probably inherited more traits from his father than his mother. Though she was dead certain that he would be loathed to admit it. She and her lover both held their fathers in contempt.

Finally, Annabelle pulled back and her sobs deflated into small sniffles. Wes rose from his spot across the table and gently walked his mother back to her seat. Soul's hand abandoned Maka's as he lightly tugged at the shirt in her petite hands. Once he realized that the cloth wasn't budging an inch within her grip, he leaned over to gently kiss the corner of her mouth, hoping to erase whatever was frustrating her.

"Maka, my shirt." he mumbled quietly.

Suddenly, her trance was broken, and the cloth slipped from her hands. She mumbled a quiet apology as her weapon gently removed the shirt from her lap.

"Would someone _please_ say something. This silence is deafening." Wes said, uncomfortably shifting around in his chair.

Soul readily obliged, "Chocolate covered crickets."

"EW!" both women shrieked simultaneously. The males both rolled around in their chairs with laughter.

"Seriously though," the younger brother said between chuckles, "I heard that there's some college in the midwest that has cricket-spitting contests or something."

"Oh that's _disgusting!_" Maka wailed, "who in their right mind would _ever_ put a _bug_ into their mouth?"

Her partner shrugged. His little phrase had done the trick, and lightened the mood considerably. As the chuckles and choruses of "ew's" finally faded, Annabelle remembered why she had come over in the first place.

"Oh, Maka darling, I nearly forgot, I came over because I wanted to know if you would like to go shopping with me today."

Suddenly, something flashed through Soul's mind, something special about this day that he had completely spaced. Maka was going to _kill_ him if he didn't grab this opportunity.

"That's perfect, Maka!" her weapon said, giving her a quick peck on the cheek, "You can celebrate your eighteenth birthday by doing girly stuff!"

Maka was completely stunned. Was it _really_ March 26th already? She stole a quick glance at the calendar on the wall, and realized that it was indeed her birthday.

"I totally forgot," she admitted sheepishly, "With exams, and your family coming, and then the party last night, I completely forgot."

Her partner wore a smug grin on his face, "Well it looks like _I'm_ the only one who remembered, since none of our so-called friends mentioned anything about it."

Maka flushed. "Well," she stammered, "If _I_ can't remember my own birthday, then how will any of them remember? It's my own fault for not taking proper care of myself."

Soul sighed, gently patting his meister's head. "Don't worry Maka, I'll make sure everyone gets together tonight to celebrate. _And_ as a bonus, I'll make them all feel _really_ guilty for forgetting."

"Okay, but this time _no drin-_" she began, but immediately interrupted herself as she remembered the presence of Soul's mother. "-_king _your homemade lemonade. I know you like sour, but Black Star really can't handle that much raw lemon juice."

Annabelle sipped at her coffee in faux-innocence. "Children, I wasn't born yesterday," she teased, "I _know _you were all drinking last night. I see the aspirin bottle on the table, the beer bottles in the trash can, and I can smell it on Wesley's breath."

The older Evan's brother promptly fell from his chair, and crashed to the ground. "_Mom!_"

She smiled and winked at them. "Oh don't worry, I'm not going to get you kids into trouble. Your father and I did our share of underage drinking, too. And, although I _hate_ to admit it, sometimes we weren't quite as responsible about it. At least you kids had the sense to make everyone stay the night. Just promise me you'll keep it under the radar, especially when you kids get to New York. The last thing I want is to get a call in the middle of the night saying that my son and his friends have all been arrested."

"You got it, Mom." Soul replied carelessly, taking another gulp from his milk carton.

"So Maka," Annabelle spoke up, turning her attention to the younger blonde. "How about I buy you a birthday present while we're out? I think it will be fun! Come, come," she said, getting up and dragging the younger woman from her chair. "Let's get you dressed!"

The meister allowed the older woman to drag her toward her bedroom, and glared as her partner smirked at her over his beverage.

* * *

~end chapter 20

_Almost_ done! :D Did you guys know that this will officially be the _first_ multi-chap fanfic that I will have ever actually _finished_? I've been writing long enough now that I should know better. Bad author! :P

Oh, and I want you guys to read my friend Miyaow's SoulxMaka story, _Boys And Dolls_! She just got an account as is trying her hand at fanfics now. I'm beta-ing for her, and she has some really cool ideas! I want her to have as great an audience as I do :3

~Love, Ash


	21. Chapter 21

Unintended Medicine

by PuppyNoelle

Description: Maka goes on the Pill to help alleviate her troublesome menstrual symptoms, but things become skewed when Soul finds out about her new prescription. SoulxMaka, multi-chap, Lemony!

A/N: Sorry it's taken me so long to update guys, apparently there was a mix-up with my college graduation, and they're requiring me to take one more class (which I was informed of _after_ commencement). So I've been trying to deal with all of that drama on top of taking on more hours at work, and an additional job at the same place, which I haven't officially been trained for yet. So basically, I'm a little frustrated at the moment.

So, because of all this non-fun stuff, I'm posting what I have written so far so that you guys won't be left in the dark. And I _will_ write the rest of UM in another chapter, though there may be a bit of a delay on it until I can get through some of these difficulties being flung my way.

Love, Ash~

* * *

Chapter 21

Maka sat sluggishly on her bed as she allowed Soul's mother to rummage through her closet. That morning had already been draining, and by now she was used to being forced to model clothes for Liz and Patty, so having Annabelle dress her up like a doll really wasn't anything for her to throw a fit over. As the older woman tossed one piece of clothing after another into a mound on the bed, the meister seriously wondered if they were _ever_ going to reach a point where they could _actually_ leave the apartment to go shopping.

Soul and Wes had already knocked on the door thrity minutes earlier, announcing that they were going out. This meant that Maka was abandoned to the mercy of their fashionista, and overly-emotional mother.

A bored Maka reached for the book on her nightstand. However, she had barely gotten to read a single page before she found Annabelle in front of her, holding out a small black object.

"Maka, what on _earth_ are you doing with _this!_" Annabelle said in a shocked tone.

The younger woman slowly pealed her vision away from her novel to the tiny black book within the delicate hands of her partner's mother.

"Oh _shit_." It was the Kama Sutra book! She had _completely_ forgotten about it! As the meister slowly forced herself to meet the older woman's gaze, she immediately began blubbering in her defense. "It's not _mine_! A- a friend of ours left it here! She's sort of a pervert, and she likes teasing me and-"

But Annabelle waved a hand to silence her. "I..." she began slowly, "I suppose I never imagined I'd ever have to experience this, I mean... I have two _sons_ for heaven's sake! Graham had the talk with Wesley, but Soul left before he could... Oh my goodness I have no idea what to say! Did your mother ever have _the talk_ with you?"

Maka facepalmed. This was a horrifically embarrassing turn of events. "No," she hastily replied, "but I'm pretty good in the research department. Look, Annabelle, you don't have to do or say anything, and _please_ don't try and talk to Soul about it. He'd die from embarrassment, just like I am right now. He may not be book smart like I am, but he's definitely _not_ dumb. And we're both very responsible about it, and neither of us has _ever_ done _anything_ with anybody else, I swear!"

The older woman sighed, her face was just as beet red as the one belonging to her son's girlfriend. "Okay. We will never bring this conversation up again, and I _won't _bring it up to Soul," she said, handing Maka a light pink peasant skirt and heather grey lace-trimmed tank top. "Just, one thing: promise me that I'll get grandkids someday."

Maka's jaw dropped. "Um, isn't that jumping the gun a little bit?"

Annabelle released a tinkling laugh. "Perhaps, but it doesn't hurt to emphasize the point, right?"

The younger blonde released a tiny whine as she changed into the outfit in front of her. Her companion merely giggled in response.

As soon as Maka was dressed, the pair set off for the mall.

"So, Maka, are there any designer stores here at all?"

The truth was, Maka couldn't name any designer brands if she'd _tried_. That was Liz and Patty's territory. Even _Soul_ knew more about designers than she did, as he loved showing off his Dolce-_something_ sunglasses. She knew about styles and which clothes and accessories went with what, but Maka was a _total_ neophyte when it came to brands.

"Um... I have no idea? I uh, don't really know designers."

"Oh well," Annabelle shrugged, "I suppose it doesn't really matter. I'll take you under my wing once you get to New York. Back home it's basically a _requirement_ to at least recognize the names of the major brands. No worries though, I won't bore you with the details today, and- oh heavens... is this a _mall?_"

The older woman looked stunned as they approached the large, interconnected buildings.

"Yeah... don't you have malls in New York?"

She giggled and patted Maka's hand. "Oh, no darling. There's no space in Manhattan for _malls_. There are department stores, but oh, honey, you don't even _utter_ the word 'mall' there."

"Well, we have a Macy's. That's where Soul and I picked out his new bed," the younger woman suggested hopefully.

"Do you have a Saks?"

"Nope."

"Neiman Marcus?"

"Again, nope."

"Dillards?"

"No."

"Bergdorf's?"

"Sorry, no. I've never even _heard_ of any of those stores."

Annabelle sighed. "Well, Macy's it is then. This isn't a _Wal-Mart_ town, is it darling?"

"No," Maka replied, shaking her head, "Lord Death didn't want the company building one here. Death City is full of kids, and he didn't want Wal-Mart bringing bad clientele here."

"Smart man!" the older blonde chirped, cheerfully following her young companion into the Macy's store.

"So, are we looking for anything in particular Annabelle?"

"I suppose that's up to you darling. It's _your_ birthday present we're looking for after all," she replied, "Do you have any idea what you want?"

The birthday girl shrugged as she strolled through the display tables full of shoes that they were walking through. "I mean, I already have everything I _need_, and when I do _want_ things I mostly just buy books."

"Mmm..." Annabelle mumbled as she picked up and examined a pair of purple, satin stilettos. "Well darling, life isn't solely about having what you _need_. Don't get me wrong, I'm thrilled to have such a bright and intelligent future daughter-in-law, but you really should relax and spoil yourself more often. I know that what you and Soul have to do for a living isn't easy work," She shuddered slightly as the words escaped her mouth, "but you're both so _young_ to have such _serious_ personalities." She sighed. "I don't know. Perhaps my soul is just too young, and both of your souls have already gone through enough lifetimes and learned most of the lessons already."

"Huh. I guess I never really thought about it that way before. So, do you believe that we reincarnate, then?" Maka asked, glancing through the pairs of shoes, searching to see if anything at all happened to catch her fancy.

Her companion's face turned quite serious, and she pursed her pretty lips in thought. "Honestly? Even at my age, I'm still not entirely sure _what_ I believe. Both my husband's family and my own family are all devout Christians, so I do my duty and go to church every Sunday, but I do enjoy the thrill of the mysterious. If I don't know as much about something, then I can't help but want to know more. I suppose that's how I fell for my husband: he's so quiet, always locking himself up in his thoughts. It just keeps me coming back for more."

"That sounds _exactly_ like Soul. He's so frustratingly quiet sometimes."

Annabelle laughed. "Yes, Soul _is_ indeed a lot like his father. Oh!" she said, interrupting herself and bouncing over to a pair of black stiletto ankle boots.

Maka thought that stilettos _had_ to be all that the woman ever wore, and she pondered the absurdity of a heel that tall and thin, until a particular pair on the same table caught _her_ eye. At first glance the shoes appeared to be standard black patent leather peep-toe pumps, but upon closer inspection, the young meister noticed that most of the shoe was made with a thick lace fabric. It was lacy, girly, and oh-so-pretty. Maka secretly thought about how _cool_ she would look if she wore, for instance, Soul's black leather jacket on top of a black lacy shirt and jeans. Completely insane, unrealistic, and probably incredibly painful heels be damned.

"Annabelle..." she said in awe, pulling the older woman's attention away from the boots.

"Oh!" the other woman squealed, "Darling, they're _beautiful!_"

Meanwhile, Soul and Wes were wandering around all of the shops that were _not _located within the mall.

"So," the taller brother piped up, "What are you getting Maka for her birthday?"

The younger brother frowned, looking back and forth between the shops, trying to make up his mind. "I don't know, Wes. I mean, this is her eighteenth birthday, and she's officially a grown-up now. This is _big_. I don't wanna get anything lame or cliche, because then I'd look totally unoriginal, and like I don't even care!"

"Well Soul," Wes replied, as they approached a small family-owned jewelry shop, "if you wanted to make a _grand gesture_, you could always propose. Heaven knows _I_ won't be finding a real relationship anytime soon, I say it's only fair that _one_ of us gets to be happy."

Soul groaned. "But Maka doesn't _want_ to get married yet! And besides, proposing on a girl's birthday is totally cliche! I mean, yeah, it's totally _tempting_," he said, with a serious look etched onto his face, "and I would _love_ to sweep her off her feet like that, but... Maka's just _not_ an ordinary girl. She's prolly beat me to a pulp."

"She's the boss, huh?" his brother replied, dragging the scythe-man into the shop regardless, "Well, just pick out a piece of jewelry you think would suit her! Perhaps it's not as _original_ as you'd like, but at least it's not lame."

Suddenly, Wes bumped into someone, and there was a flash of bright red.

"Geez... would you mind watching where you're going?"

"_Spirit?_" Soul said in shock, he was _definitely _not expecting to see his girlfriend's father on this little excursion.

"Huh? Soul? What on earth are _you_ doing in here? And who is _he_? You two related or something?"

"Yeah, this is my older brother, Wes. Wes, this is Spirit Albarn, Maka's dad."

Wes politely greeted the older man and shook his hand.

"Well, he _certainly_ has better manners than _you_ do Soul," the red-head said, "Though he is a bit clumsier. So, what are you two doing in here anyways?"

"Buying Maka a birthday present." the younger scythe replied simply.

"Oh," the elder scythe replied casually, "I was doing the same thing. I guess it wouldn't hurt if we looked together then, huh?"

Soul shrugged, "I guess not."

"So what were you planning on getting her anyways?" the older man asked.

"Soul wants to get her an engagement ring," Wes said slyly, grinning at the angrily embarrassed look on his sibling's face.

"_Wes!_"

"An... _engagement ring_?" Spirt froze, completely bewildered. "You... you want to _marry_ my little Maka?"

Soul's cheeks flushed, and he nervously fidgeted with the hem of his jacket. "Um... yeah?" He couldn't bring himself to look the older man in the eyes.

"Well it's _about damn time!_" the red-head finally said, "I just couldn't _stand_ the thought of my poor baby Maka living in sin without any kind of promise or commitment!" He wailed, on the verge of tears.

"_You're one to talk!_ _Promises _and _commitment! _What a _joke_! I'm _nothing_ like you, I'll _never_ hurt Maka the way you hurt her mother."

Spirit glared at the younger man's outright defiance, but his mood quickly change as he sighed heavily. "I know, Soul. I royally fucked up my family, But that's also how I know that you'll treat her right. You've both been forced to learn from _my_ mistakes. I may be a bit of an idiot sometimes, but I love my Maka more than anything in the world, and I want her to be happy. So, let's hurry up and pick her a ring, before I decide to _take away_ my consent."

"Okay," Soul agreed, still a bit surprised by the random maturity that the older scythe seemed to have gained. He was pretty sure it would be gone by the time they left the store.

As they looked through the jewelry cases, and Spirit explained what he had originally been planning on getting his daughter at the jewelry shop, Soul suddenly had a brilliant idea. As he explained his theory to the two other men, he only hoped that Maka wouldn't bash his head in for the sheer mushiness of the idea. He couldn't help it though, he was finally willing to admit to himself that he was indeed the totally uncool, hopelessly romantic, completely whipped, and utterly devoted type, who was _thrilled_ at the idea of bringing home a _bride_. So much for all his years of ducking tradition.

* * *

~end chapter 21

Again, sorry for not finishing it as I promised, but I'll try to get this wrapped up, and move onto the next story as soon as I can deal with my unanticipated dramas.

And reviews are always good for the soul! ;3

~Love, Ash


	22. Chapter 22

Unintended Medicine

by PuppyNoelle

Description: Maka goes on the Pill to help alleviate her troublesome menstrual symptoms, but things become skewed when Soul finds out about her new prescription. SoulxMaka, multi-chap, Lemony!

A/N: Hey guys! I'm baaaaack! :3

Finally, the final chapter is here! Thanks everybody for patiently waiting for the last chapter, I really appreciate you guys letting me take the time I needed to sort through things. Things have been _incredibly_ hectic over the last couple weeks, and I haven't had the time to seriously sit down and write much. I've mostly just been adding on a tiny bit at a time. BUT here it is, at last, the final chapter of UM! :D (P.S. I'll start FIP as soon as I can ;3)

Also, thanks for giving this story over 50,000 hits and more than 300 reviews! You guys are the best audience that I ever could have asked for!

Love, Ash~

* * *

Chapter 22

When Maka crossed the threshold of her apartment, she carefully glanced around, making sure that her boyfriend had not yet returned. She silently closed and locked the door behind her, and swiftly scuttled into her bedroom, closing that door behind her as well. She slowly, reverently withdrew her new shoes from the shopping bag. She admired the tall strappy pumps that she would _never_ be able to stand in for more than a few minutes at a time. Annabelle had been so sweet to buy her these for her birthday. The meister only hoped that Soul would like them, too.

She quickly changed out of the clothes that she wore that day, excited to try out the outfit she'd had in mind. Once free from all her clothing, she skipped over to her dresser and pulled out her lacy bra and a pair of pink panties that matched the color as closely as possible (Soul _still_ hadn't replaced the matching pair that he'd destroyed). She put on the bra and clean underwear, then went to her closet and picked out her favorite pair of jeans, and her black, lace-trimmed tank top. She then put on the shoes and experimentally took a few steps in them. Okay, so she was less clumsy in them on her carpet than on the solid floor in the store.

She quickly snuck into her boyfriend's bedroom, picked through his very messy closet, and extracted the old leather jacket that was now a little too small for him, but still a little too big for her. But Maka didn't care. She didn't normally fantasize about anything, but this was _definitely_ a fantasy that she was determined to fulfill.

Finally, she giddily returned to her own bedroom. She was in the mood to have some silly, girly fun, so she walked over to her computer and loaded up iTunes. She picked out a particular song that she'd loved the moment she'd first heard it. The part that really stuck out about it were the words from the chorus, to which she loudly sang along:

"_You made a rebel of a careless man's careful daughter, You are the best thing that's ever been mine_!"

She was so busy singing and dancing around the room that she didn't hear the knock on her door, nor did she notice Soul open the door, with blood trickling down his nose as he watched her. Finally, the song ended and she heard a long, drawn out clapping behind her. She whirled around to see a huge smirk on her boyfriend's face. She immediately flushed.

"_Soul!_ What the _hell_ are you doing?" She wailed, clutching the coat close around her torso.

"Just enjoying the show, Maka. And don't worry, I'm the only one here: Wes went back to Mom's hotel to hang out with her."

"Oh, okay," she replied, whirling around to face the bed, and awkwardly smoothing out the covers.

Soul wiped his nose. He then approached her from behind and wrapped his arms around her waist, and leaned his head on her shoulder to observe her timid actions. "You know, I almost didn't recognize you Maka. You look _really _fucking _hot_. Did my mom buy you the shoes?"

His meister nodded bashfully. "So... You think I look _hot_?"

"Damn straight." He grinned. "Just think how _cool _you're gonna look on the back of my bike when we meet the others tonight! And _damn_, I think I'm gonna have to fuck you before the night's over..."

She smacked his arm. "Pervert!"

He couldn't help but chuckle. He gently kissed her neck, but released her. "Hey," he said, curling her hand into his own and twirling her around, "can I talk to you about something?"

"Sure," she replied, a little wary, because his face suddenly revealed the telltale signs of nervousness. She also noticed that his free hand was buried in his jeans pocket, fumbling with something inside.

"I know that things have been _really_ crazy lately, and I know you'd be pissed if I didn't get you anything, so," He slowly began to pull out the mysterious object from his pocket. "Happy 18th birthday Maka."

He pulled out a small white ring box, and held it out to her. The young woman's mind screamed at her and alarm bells rang. Her eyes widened.

"That's not what I _think_ it is, is it? Soul, you're not... _proposing,_ are you?"

This time _he_ blushed. "What? No, Maka, it's not... not exactly. It's... just _open it_."

She eyed the tiny box suspiciously, but took it regardless. She glanced up at him, taking in his slightly edgy and timid facial expression, before tentatively propping open the lid. Inside was a white-gold ring with a single, emerald-cut clear gemstone on it. It _had_ to be a diamond. It was the most beautiful piece of jewelry she had ever seen in her entire life. It was _perfect_.

"_SOUL you LIAR! _This is _obviously_ an engagement ring!"

He cowered back in fear of being Maka-chopped. "Okay, _technically_ it is, but, I'm _not_ proposing!"

"Well then what the fuck _are_ you trying to do?"

"Just take it out of the box."

She glared at her partner, but obeyed. When she pulled the ring out of the case, she noticed that a simple, silver-colored chain was attached to it. Now she was even _more_ confused. "I don't get it."

Her weapon stuffed his hands into his pockets and pouted shyly while he explained. "Look, I _know_ you don't wanna get married yet, and I'm totally cool with that. This is sorta my way of putting the ball into _your _court. That ring _is_ an engagement ring, but I don't want you to wear it as one until you've decided that you're _ready_. The chain's there so that you can wear it around your neck in the meantime. I just... I want you to have it because I want it to symbolize that you're _mine_." He tried to maintain some of his manly dignity by physically fluffing up his posture. "And I don't care how you wear it. If you wanna hide it under your shirts instead of wearing it over, it doesn't matter to me. As long as I know you're wearing it, I'll be cool."

The meister somehow suspected that the last part was pure puffery. He probably _would_ feel at least a little inadequate if she didn't wear it where he could see it. He _was_ a man after all, and all men had egos that needed to be stroked.

"Do I have to put it on myself?" She asked, informally accepting his gift.

His face perked up at the question, and in that instant, he went from shy to smug. The scythe-man carefully took the necklace from his lover, and she turned around, holding her pigtails out of the way for him. Once the clasp was in place, Soul kissed the back of his meister's neck, and pulled her into his arms again.

"I love you, Maka."

She gently tossed the tiny white box onto the bed and embraced her boyfriend's arms. "I love you too, Soul."

"Oh, by the way, the chain is from your old man. He made me promise to tell you that."

His girlfriend whipped around. "_What_?"

"Uh, yeah. We sort of ran into each other in the jewelry shop. He was gonna get you a necklace for your birthday, and then I ended up getting this idea..."

"_Wait_, so my papa actually _agreed_ to this arrangement? Without trying to chop your head off?"

Her weapon shrugged. "He's been a _bit_ cooler about things lately. I guess he's finally figured out that I'm not going anywhere no matter _what _he does. Actually, he was more upset when I told him about New York than when I told him I wanted to marry you. So, uh, you're prolly gonna have to talk to him. _That_ bullet, I barely dodged. Had to high-tail it outta there."

"So..." Maka enunciated slowly and precisely, "We're actually going to get married, and our parents are _okay_ with it?"

"Well, you'll still have to tell your mom, and I'm sure _my_ dad will give me shit about it, but pretty much, yeah. Whenever you want to, just say the word."

Suddenly, his meister burst out laughing. Soul momentarily raised an eyebrow at her before joining in her celebratory mirth.

"Well," the scythe-man said, as their laughter finally began to die down, "we've still got a couple of hours until we meet up with the others. So, in the meantime, I wanna get you _out_ of those clothes."

Maka giggled when she felt the floor disappear beneath her feet, as her partner scooped her body into his arms. The moment her body crashed onto the bed, Soul hovered over her, peeling his old jacket off her shoulders, and softly kissing her smooth flesh. Piece by piece, her weapon removed each article of clothing on his meister. The first victim of Soul's lust was the jacket. Soon that was followed by Maka's black camisole, and then her favorite bra. Soul gently began massaging her right breast with one hand, and lightly grazed his tongue over the nipple on the other. Simultaneously, his free hand was slowly working on undoing the button and zipper on his partner's hip-hugging jeans.

"Mmm... Soul..." she moaned quietly, just as he began tugging the tight-fitting denim down her long legs. He abandoned her breasts to carefully pull the pants off over the shoes.

"Soul, what are you doing?" his lover asked, reaching down to take the shoes off herself.

But in one swift motion he swatted her hand away. "No. Leave them on," he ordered. Maka was a bit confused by her weapon's sudden interest in her shoes, but decided that if it turned him on, she wasn't going to argue.

Once her jeans were off, her boyfriend-slash-fiancee made quick work of her panties. Once he had slid them off, he perched himself upon his knees, and reverently took her smooth legs into his hands. He experimentally placed a soft kiss on her right ankle as he rubbed up and down her calves. Maka shivered as he continued to place tiny butterfly kisses along those same ankles that he used to describe as "fat" when they were younger.

Incrementally, his hands roamed higher up her lean legs. As his fingers grazed higher, so did his lips. Eventually, his fingers reached her womanhood, and gently began to stroke her folds.

"Oh!" Maka squeaked in pleasure, arching her back slightly at the touch. Her silver-haired mate grinned and began to run his tongue along her inner thigh. He was getting bolder. _Her_ heart was racing faster. He took her by surprise when he stuck a single finger inside her. She gasped, and he began panting, too. He moved his finger around, taking in every inch of her soft, wet walls. Eventually a second finger joined in, and then a third. His fingers slowly began mimicking the thrusting motions that only his manhood had managed before. When his meister panted his name, he instinctively curled his fingers upward. He must have done something right, because her walls clenched around his fingers tightly and her vocal chords shouted his name as she orgasmed.

He slowly pulled out his now soaked fingers, and grinned at his triumph. But it wasn't over yet. He quickly discarded his own clothing. Then, he stood, placing a hand under each of his lover's thighs and lifting them into the air. He positioned himself between her legs and thrust inside, earning an impressive moan from Maka. Slowly, he raised one of her legs over his shoulder so that he could get deeper inside of her. A peripheral glimpse of the black heel against the creamy white of his love's skin inspired him to thrust both faster and harder. Both of their moans increased in pace and intensity until Maka found her release a second time, and Soul found his a moment later.

"I don't think my leg is supposed to go up that high," his meister said breathlessly, but with a goofy smile on her face.

Her scythe chuckled as he slowly pulled out of her, releasing her awkwardly positioned leg in the process. "Maybe not," he said smugly, "but it felt _damn_ good that way."

As she caught her breath again, Maka giggled, too. Then a well-timed "yeah," escaped from her lips. As Soul captured his partner's lips once again, they both realized that they weren't going to make it to Maka's birthday party quite on time.

* * *

Graduation came and went, and Maka, Soul, and the rest of their teammates were all preparing for their big move to New York City. They packed their bags, cancelled their leases, shipped their belongings, and said their goodbyes to the people they were going to leave behind. However, before they could officially leave Death City, Maka had one last errand to run...

The blonde meister laid down awkwardly on top of the padded exam room table while her gynecologist poked and prodded around her nether regions with those cold, sterile tools. Maka wanted nothing more than to get out of there, immediately. It really wasn't any less awkward and uncomfortable the second time around.

"So," the brunette woman asked, "how has the birth control been working out for you, Maka?"

"Oh. It's great! My last few periods have been so much lighter, and I hardly get any cramps at all anymore, and-"

But she cut herself off there. _That _was a conversation that she wasn't comfortable getting into with someone she had only met once before, even if said person _was_ a doctor, who currently had her gloved hands and shiny tools down by the young woman's unmentionables.

"It's just really useful," Maka finally said to complete her sentence.

"Well that's good," the doctor replied, finally removing her tools and dropping them into a cleaning solution on the countertop behind her. "I'm glad it's been working out well for you. How is your fiancee liking it?"

Maka sputtered. "_What? _I- I don't know what you mean!"

The doctor smiled and pointed at the silver ring that was currently peeking out from beneath Maka's borrowed cotton robe. "Sweetheart, you're wearing an engagement ring around your neck, and while I was examining you, I found that your hymen has been torn, and it was intact the last time I saw you. I'm a gynecologist Maka, I've seen it all. There's really no need to be coy."

"Oh," was the only reply that the meister could muster.

"Well," the older woman said, with an amused smile on her face, "We're done for today, so you can go ahead and get dressed now. And don't forget the list of recommendations for New York doctors that I gave you. You'll need to keep up on your exams while you're there."

"Yes, thank you, doctor," Maka replied appreciatively.

"You're welcome, dear," the older woman said cheerfully as she walked out the door.

With her last loose end tied, Maka exited the clinic to find Soul leaning casually against the side of a neon yellow cab, boredly staring off into the distance. His crimson eyes flitted over to his meister's form and he removed himself from the smooth metal of the car. He opened the door of the vehicle and silently motioned for her to get inside first. She obliged, and he swiftly joined her, grasping her hand in his and keeping their fingers laced for the duration of the drive to the airport.

When they arrived, a small group of their friends, teachers, and family members were there to see them off. Their fellow Spartoi members were staying behind in Death City, and going to school in nearby California, so they all made sure to see their friends off. Lord Death was fussing over Kid, and Stein and Sid were attempting to calm down a bawling and heaving Spirit.

After everyone had said their goodbyes, the outward bound group turned toward their exit. Maka took one final glance back at her tear-stained father, and left her partner's side to sprint over to the redhead and hug him tightly.

"Bye Papa. I uh..." she began hesitantly, mumbling quietly, "I love you."

Spirit's eyes welled up with fresh tears, this time of joy, as his daughter pulled away to rejoin her partner.

The last thing that Soul and Maka heard as their going away party disappeared from view was Maka's father yelling:

"YOU'D BETTER TAKE GOOD CARE OF MY MAKA YOU LAZY, OCTOPUS-HEADED BRAT!"

Beside her, Soul chuckled and casually draped an arm over his meister's shoulders. He seemed to take Spirit's words to heart though, because the moment they reached the crowd of people boarding the plane, the scythe-man's arm snaked down to her waist, where he held onto her possessively. As they all finally took their seats, Maka could swear that she saw a flash of crimson, as Soul's eyes locked onto her collarbone, just to make sure that the ring was still securely fastened around her neck.

* * *

~Fin


End file.
